Parallel Realities
by InHarmsWay
Summary: Shepard is a being from a parallel universe who came to the Mass Effect Galaxy to bring Cerberus to justice after the crimes they committed against his galaxy, only to find a greater threat to not just ME's Galaxy but his own. ME1-3. AU.
1. Prologue

Mass Effect: Parallel Realities

Prologue

2158 CE

Cerberus agents discovered a rift in space in the Armstrong Cluster, in the Hydra system. It was a recently developed phenomenon. The rift emitted bursts of various forms of energy and radiation and a blinding, bright white light that radiated from its center. Cerberus scientists had probes to analyze the mass before they learned that the rift was a stabilized wormhole. Despite existing for hundreds of years, neither Asari, Turian or Salarian race were able to find a stabilized wormhole. Humanity, specifically Cerberus, was the first.

Cerberus sent a probe through the wormhole to investigate what was on the other side. What they found excited them beyond comprehension. Not only did the wormhole lead to somewhere safely, but it led to a whole other universe. The probe recorded and transmitted footage of a shipyard outside of the rift. The probe was immediately found by the local aliens and taken in. The aliens examined the mysterious probe and used it to communicate with the Cerberus agents.

This was a discovery bigger than the Mars Ruins discovery. Interaction with the parallel universe was dubbed Project Mirror by the Illusive Man. Understanding humanity's languages was simple for the races of the mirror galaxy. The aliens used nanotechnology that allowed them to download the entire languages of humanity directly into their minds allowing them to speak the languages as oppose to using a translator.

After a month of communication, Cerberus sent agents through the rift to study the alien races and their technology in hopes of advancing Humanity. The alternate universe's galaxy had six different races: Rak'en (Raak-in), Praetorin (Pray-tor-in), Tia'Zu (Tee-a-zuh), Rasitian (Ra-si-sh-ion), Exion (Ex-ion), and Artician (Ar-ti-sh-ion).

Rak'en were an insect race. They had six limbs. Two pairs acted as legs and a pair as arms. They had wings, but could only fly short distances. Praetorins were a humanoid race of reptiles. They were roughly seven feet tall on average and had long slender arms and claws. They had a long slender tail that could be cracked like a whip. Tia'Zus were similar to Turians in that they were armored creatures. They were bipedal and carnivorous with steely sharp teeth and large crimson eyes with slit pupils that made them look like a monster out of an old sci-fi movie. Despite their appearance, they were very civil beings.

Rasitians looked similar to humans. They had similar male/female physical differences. The truer differences were the hands, ears and head. They had three fingers and one thumb on their hands. They did not have protruding noses. Instead they had two small slits that acted as their nostrils and they had four eyes. Their ears were similar to Asari in that there was no external ear structure, but just an ear hole. A membrane came out from the back of their head. The females had a longer membrane that made it look like an imitation of a woman's long hair. The males had shorter membrane.

The Exions were a more unusual race. They are not organic. They were a synthetic race that was created by the Articians over a thousand years ago. It was by accident, but the Exions were born and became a member of the galactic community. The Exions reminded the Cerberus scientists of the Geth that the Quarians created. Both similar situations, but different ways the creators reacted to their creation. Made them wonder what would have happened if the Quarians allowed the Geth to exist. They would have been kicked out of the Presidium, but they would have had a powerful ally.

The Articians were the most interesting of the races. They looked human. Not just similar to humans, they looked exactly like humans. Their physical structures, skin colour, their eyes, noses, hands, arms, everything. All exactly human. Despite looking exactly like humans physically, they were different on many levels. The average artician was at least five times stronger than the average human.

Each artician had natural biotics that surpassed even Asari Matriarchs. What surprised the scientists was that this galaxy did not use Eezo for space travel. Meaning no one could be born with biotics from eezo-exposure in-utero. Articians evolved dark energy manipulating nodes naturally. Something articians share with Asari is that they are also able to mind meld, but it acts on a different, and a far more advance, level than an Asari mind meld.

Asari mind melds transmit sensations, emotions and, on a smaller scale, memories between parties. Articians are able to pull another into their mind and interact with them in their own minds. The scientists didn't even believe the ability until one of the articians asked for his consent to mind meld with him. In the several seconds they were connected, the Cerberus scientist was guided through several years of that person's life.

Their DNA was different as well. It was in a constant state of flux that made it neither levo-rotational or dextro-rotational. It was able to imitate genetic structures of other races. It could even imitate human DNA. Perfectly.

Artician intelligence level was far greater than that of a human. They also matured at a different rate than that of a human. While they both reach puberty around age twelve and true physical adulthood at eighteen, articians are mentally mature at age five. Meaning that a five year can have the same intelligence and mannerisms of a fifty year old or older among humans.

Articians are the most respected race in the galaxy. Tia'Zus and Rak'ens owe their advancement to them. The Galactic Order (their version of the Council) was started by the articians tens of thousands of years ago.

Their galaxy didn't see war or the gangs, mercenaries or pirates that the Council's galaxy saw. Because of the lack of threats, they didn't have any weapons, such as fire arms or ship ordinance.

It almost seemed like a utopia society. Not to say that there was absolutely no crime in the galaxy.

The Cerberus agents were welcomed into the galaxy and were allowed to examine their technology.

2159 CE

They tried their best to monitor the agent's use and examination of their technology, but the Cerberus agents were crafty. In secret they started their own projects and experiments. One of which was on the medical nanobots the races used to heal their wounds and cure their illnesses. They rushed at modifying the medical nanobots to be used on humans. In their criminal haste they created a glitch that eventually became a virus.

This virus spread to the network which corrupted every sample of medical nanobots in the galaxy. The virus caused the nanobots to shut down organs and mutate the brain, allowing the mind to live. Aggression was radically increased and the subject would attack others which spread the nanobots to other hosts.

Zombies. That was what one of the Cerberus agents called them. The concept was from their sci-fi movies. Creatures that are dead but alive at the same time.

The plague-ridden were killing tens of millions, eventually turning to billions. The death toll betrayed no evidence of slowing. Family and friends eating each other. This was hell.

Once the galaxy discovered what the agents have done, they tried hunting them down. Some of the scientists managed to escape through the rift; some were killed by their own creations. Some went into hiding. The galaxy was falling apart and there was little hope for their future.

2159-2164 CE

The plague threw the galaxy into disarray. There were no weapons for any race to use against the undead. A person rose up during the chaos to bring about order. His name was John Shepard: An artician and Tiven'vian. He was only 5 when he took charge among the panic. Through his strategies, forces on different worlds were able to start fighting back against the plague-ridden. His forces started building weapons to improve their efficiency at the killing the plague-ridden. Things they once used were easily converted to powerful weaponry. Lasers, particle beams... During his mission, his forces were able to locate, capture and interrogate the missing Cerberus operatives. They put him in touch with their leader: The Illusive Man.

Shepard spoke to him through a small holographic communicator. The Illusive Man was not allowed to know his true name, just like the Illusive Man wouldn't reveal his. Shepard simply went by "The Commander." The Illusive Man showed the same remorse as the other agents. The accident was tragic, but his focus was on acquiring technology to improve humanity's standing in his galaxy. The suffering Shepard's galaxy was going through did not faze him a bit. Not his galaxy, not his race, not his problem. That was the end of the conversation. That was all Shepard was given to explain why so many had to die. Why his entire specie is extinct. He was the last of his kind and that was all he was given.

The war against the Plague-ridden lasted for five years before Shepard's army was finally able to reach the facility where the network operated from. The area was completely infested which was why it took them so long to reach the actual facility. The war ended when Shepard and his forces entered the facility and shut down the medical nanobot network. It's shut down killed every plague-ridden across the galaxy.

His actions earned commendations and medals from leaders all around the galaxy. Every race, except his own, survived. He was given the rank Supreme Commander of the Order of the Galactic Guardians. The galaxy immediately focused on rebuilding, researching and creating weapons for the fight they knew was coming over the horizon.

2164 CE

Supreme Commander John Shepard walked into the Galactic Order's Chamber. There were the leaders of the races. Each of them stood behind podiums. It was ironic that such a young child would have such a great impact amongst the galaxy.

Shepard placed his right fist over his heart and bowed his head. "Good evening," he greeted.

"Welcome, Commander," the Tia'Zu leader replied. "It is an honor to have you here before us. We are sorry for the loss of your race."

"Thank you, Minister."

"I assume you know why you are here," the Exion leader chirped in.

"The Cerberus threat."

"Yes. They have committed great evils against our galaxy. Against your people. And they cannot be allowed to escape justice."

"I agree. They cannot be allowed to get away with what they've done and who knows how long it'll be until they try something else. Only a small group of operatives were able to cause a galactic Armageddon."

"And we need to know more about their organization," the Rak'en leader added. "Shepard you're a Tiven'vian, but you've only been through a couple of trials. The Trial of Awakening. The Trial of Inferno. The Trial of Fortitude. You still have several more Trials to go through. That means..."

"That means that the plague wasn't the cataclysm."

"Yes. It was a trial for something much worse to come. It could very well be Cerberus. So we need someone to go through the rift and find out about them. We realize that there is no race on the other side that looks like any of us, except for you. We could create a specific body for an Exion infiltrator, but that could take time... We thought that you would like to personally oversee this."

"That I would, Minister. I'll go through and find out what I can."

"Thank you, Commander. After everything you've done, we well... Owe you everything. We have been setting up a ship for you to take into their galaxy. The ship will be destroyed once you arrive at a human colony leaving no salvageable trace of it. From there your mission starts. You are given full reins in this mission. Find out everything you can about Cerberus and whether or not we are facing a group or a race."

"I won't fail."

VVVVV

Three Year Later...

Psychological Evaluation...

Psychologist: Dr. David V. Allen

Subject: Shepard, John

Sex: Male

Race: Human

Birth Date: 4.11.2154 (according to subject)

Age: 13

Notes:

John arrived three years ago on Mindoir in a ship crash. The vessel was so utterly destroyed after crashing that its origin or construction could not be attained. Shepard's body was found a small distance away from the crash, unconscious. It was miraculous that he survived the crash. He was taken to the local hospital where he was treated for, surprisingly, minor injuries and burns.

While he was unconscious, the doctors did a DNA test to find out where he was from. The tests were inconclusive. It was like he doesn't exist. The only insights into his origins came from John. After John woke up and recovered, he was question by me in order to know where he came from.

According to him, he was a child soldier who only recently escaped his captors, a mercenary group he did not know the name to. The story seemed preposterous until I saw Shepard's capabilities. He was extremely strong, able to lift a several hundred pounds effortlessly. Shepard also had powerful Biotic abilities, despite the absence of a biotic implant. I would even go as far to say that it surpasses some Asari, and I have a feeling he's holding back. There is no way a natural ten year old (at the time of the first interview) could have these abilities. With this in mind I have come to the theory that John Shepard was a scientific experiment to create a super soldier. His captors were the ones who turned him into what he is.

I asked him how many he's killed during his time as a child soldier and he replied in a neutral tone that he doesn't know the exact number. I followed up by asking him if he felt guilty over taking so many lives. John looked me in the eyes before he replied, "I have never harmed an innocent in my life. The lives I took were that of other evil men and women. To feel guilty for taking their lives is an insult to the many innocent victims who were harmed by them." His eyes were that of a tired soldier and not that of a child.

For a while I was concerned he might be a psychopath after being so casual about taking a life. Later interviews with him proved otherwise. He displayed a level of maturity that is virtually unknown for someone his age. It took a while for his words to truly reach me. He wasn't casual about taking a life. Shepard merely did not feel guilty over the death of murderers. My later interviews proved that he did value life and had a wide range of emotions that is unknown for psychopaths.

Shepard was still kept in observation until I deemed him sane and fit to operate in society. This proved not very long. Another fear I had is he might be suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after what he's been through in his life.

Again interviews with him said differently. He was surprisingly well adjusted for someone who has gone through what he has. After a month, I deemed him fit to function in society. A lonely farming couple, Matthew Jackson and Jessica Jackson, offered to take him under their roof.

I visited the couple a week later to see how John was adjusting to his new life. They were more than enthused about him. Shepard took it upon himself to do every job and chore at their farm without being asked. Due to his super-human abilities, the tasks were effortless to him and increased the family's production at the farm by several folds.

John was enrolled in the local school a few days after I spoke with his legal guardians. I checked in with his teachers after a month to find out about his progress. Despite not having any prior education, Shepard display genius intellect. He understands every language, and his writings were that of someone much older. Despite his academic success, his teachers have mentioned that Shepard has mostly isolated himself from the other students, very rarely interacting with them outside of asking them for directions around the school.

I have been contacted by the principal about a month and a half after his enrollment; there was a situation out on the school yard. Several well known school bullies approached Shepard and demanded payment to not "beat him up". John refused to pay them one credit. This resulted in the leader of the three to throw the first punch. According to eye witnesses out in the school yard, Shepard redirected the punch causing the bully to fall face first into the ground. The other two attempted to fight Shepard only to face the same treatment.

The bullies kept this practice up (with no success) only to have Shepard redirected their attacks. Eventually a teacher came to the scene to take the four to the principal's office. The bullies claimed Shepard instigated the fight, whereas Shepard told his side of the story. Students around the school yard intervened on Shepard's behalf. The three were suspended for several days.

Over the course of three years, Shepard's emotions have become more positive. Still he maintains the same anti-social behaviour at his school. Though an odd new development with him: He's volunteered at a recently opened Quarian shelter. From observations I've seen him with more social behaviour with the Quarians than with the kids at his school. He's even befriended a young Quarian girl at the shelter by the name of Tali'Zorah nar Rayya.

I will continue my observation on John Shepard.

Suggested theory for behaviour change:

It's possible that he has resentment towards his own race. The mercenary group and/or scientists, who tortured him, were likely exclusively humans, and that the only thing he's ever experienced from humans was pain and suffering. He may find the aliens more accommodating, less likely to abuse him.

Added Note:

The Systems Alliance has been really pushing towards having access to Shepard. Word got out about his abilities (both physical and biotic), and now they want their scientists to examine him and even push him towards joining. I would find these actions to be counter-productive towards Shepard's readjustment towards a normal life. His grades have remained at a steady high, which would give Shepard the opportunity to become a scientist or even an engineer. This of course just makes the Alliance more desperate to have him among their ranks.


	2. Trial of Sacrifice

Chapter 1: Trial of Sacrifice

2170 CE

Shepard walked in through the door way of the shelter; a crate over each shoulder. The room he entered had several lines of cots. The area was bustling with activity. Over two hundred Quarians stayed at the shelter at any given time. The shelter was built in 2167 when Mindoir became a prime location for Quarians to visit, or stay, while on their pilgrimage. Humans were new to the galactic stage allowing for open minds towards the Quarian race. Any human that showed mistrust, dislike or hatred of their race usually didn't like any other race.

Mindoir was also the center of many human systems, so Mindoir also acted as a relay to many other worlds. This also made it a prime location for Quarians to visit while traveling on their pilgrimage.

It was the largest Quarian shelter in the galaxy.

The deal wasn't one-sided though. The Quarians helped out around the colony. They traded and fixed broken equipment whether it's a communication relay or farming equipment. The colonists didn't mind their presence so the shelter was mutually beneficial.

John was only one of six individuals who volunteered at the shelter. He walked pass the Quarians towards the storage room at the back. The doors opened when he got within proximity of them. Shepard placed the crates of food tubes on one of the shelves. The shelter was now stocked with enough food for a few months. John turned around to see a Quarian woman stand at the doorway.

"The food storage space is fully stocked m'am," he said to her in Khelish.

"Thank you, John," Mari nodded.

Mari'Zorah vas Rayya. She was Tali'Zorah's mother and Admiral Rael'Zorah's wife. Mari wore a similar enviro-suit as others of her race, but the cloth that adored her body was purple with white swirl patterns. She was sent to Mindoir frequently to oversee the shelter's operation and to ensure her people were being treated well. Mari and Tali visited every other week and stayed for several days. Tali was brought along to expose her to the world outside of the Fleet in a safe setting. It was through that time a friendship grew between him and Tali. She was a young girl who first met him when he was 13 and she was 6, just after got her first enviro-suit. Tali was an energetic, remarkably intelligent and sweet natured girl. At the moment she was chest height in comparison to Shepard.

"Didn't know you arrived, m'am."

"Please John, you've been working here since the shelter opened, Mari is okay."

"Alright," he shrugged. John wiped the sweet from his brow and started arranging the crates on the shelves. "Where's Tali?"

"She's still at the ship," she replied. "Just getting some things. Rael gave her some homework to do while she was here."

"Can't she have one trip where he hasn't given her schematics to complete?" he asked rhetorically.

"You know, Rael," Mari muttered. "He's just trying to make sure she's prepared for the future."

"Still, she's only 9."

"I know. He means well. Which is why it's good for her to come here. Allows her to see what's outside of the Fleet. And she gets to meet kind people. You've been a good friend to her. You're all she talks about back at the Fleet." Mari chuckled.

"Well, I'm glad that she enjoys her time here."

Mari nodded and said, "Have you decided what you're doing after graduating?"

John let go of the crate and turned to Mari. "Why do you ask?"

"I know you have about a couple of years before you graduate and that's a big time for humans. A time where they have to make the choice of who they want to be as an adult."

John placed another crate on the top shelf and sighed. "Don't tell my psychologist. I'm joining the Alliance right when I graduate."

"Why?" she asked in a shocked tone.

"Biotics don't really have a place in human society. And I have skills that can be put to good use in the military."

"Tali is going to miss you."

"She can have my extranet account address and talk to me whenever she wants. Anyways, I can do some good in the galaxy in the military. I plan to get a degree in engineering with them." John shrugged the thought away. "Well, I need to finish resupplying this storage room. Got the food done, just need to get the suit repair crates and medical supplies." He shook his head disapprovingly. "Did you know we just ran out of medical supplies yesterday? The guy responsible for stock was late to place the order in. It was good talking to you."

John walked pass Mari.

"I've been meaning to ask you something for a while now," she said to stop him from moving. "What is that thing strapped to your back?"

Mari was pointing to the three-foot long rod-shaped object wrapped in cloth that was attached to the back of his vest.

"A family heirloom," he answered plainly.

"Aren't you afraid of someone stealing it?"

"No," he stated matter-of-factly.

"What is it specifically?"

Before Shepard could open his mouth they heard a girlish squeal. "John!" A smile came across his face as he turned to be pounce-hugged by a little Quarian girl.

"Hey there, Tali," he greeted. Tali's arms were wrapped around his torso tightly and rested her head on his chest.

"I missed you."

"Well, I missed you too." He let out a chuckle. "You might want to loosen your hug. You're going to crack a rib."

Tali giggled as she loosened her hold just enough to look up at him.

"I swear; you're getting taller every time I see you."

"Or you're getting shorter," she quipped.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. John looked to Mari. "She gets her wit from you."

Mari only laughed.

John patted Tali and the head and head and said, "I just need to get the rest of the shelter's supplies before we can have some fun."

Tali pouted. "Okay..."

"I won't be long," he said in a positive tone. "I promise." He gave her another pat on the shoulder and made his way out of the shelter.

The truck was about ten meters from the front of the shelter. Shepard got to the back and opened the doors. There were four crates of medical supplies and three crates of repair equipment. John was shifting one of the boxes towards himself when a roar echoed throughout the area. He immediately let go of the crate and slowly back away from the truck and looked to the sky. Half a dozen ships were flying in through the atmosphere. Each one roughly the size of a frigate.

John recognized their silhouettes. Batarians. He pulled up his omni-tool and contacted the colony's docking hub. He had their contact info to organize Quarian arrivals once in a while. "This is John Shepard," he said into his omni-tool. "I've spotted half a dozen vessels entering the colony's space. Each of them with Batarian silhouettes. Are we expecting company?"

"Just that Quarian ship that arrived, Shepard," the man on the other end replied. "You said Batarian silhouettes?" There was fear in his tone.

"Without a doubt."

"Damn it," the controller cursed under his breath. "Sending alert to the Alliance fleet, now. Thank you for notifying me."

"What's it doing?" another voice said in the background.

"Oh shi-"

John saw one of the frigates, in the distance, fire a round into the docking hub blowing it to pieces. It was too far away for any real noise outside of a thud. His eyes widen at the sight. It's a slaving raid. Shepard ran back to the shelter. He called up his omni-tool again and called the Jacksons to give them warning of the slavers. He came to a dead stop before the door. He regained his composure before he opened it. The door slid open and he walked in and cleared his throat.

"Everyone!" he called out to the room. The talking died down a little, but there was still some volume. "Everyone!" The room was finally quiet and all eyes were on Shepard. He gave it a quick thought of what to say to them. He announced to them in a stern tone, "A situation has arisen and I'm going to need everyone to head into the bunker in a quick and orderly fashion."

The population of the room just stared blankly at Shepard.

Mari walked up to Shepard and inquired, "And what is the situation?"

"Slavers."

Any Quarian who was sitting was immediately up on their feet.

"What?" Mari exclaimed.

"Batarian slavers have just entered the colony's space and they've destroyed the docking hub. I need everyone to get into the shelter's bunker immediately." His voice was still calm, but sterner.

The Quarians started making their way to the bunker. The human volunteers were making their way to the shelter's door.

"Where do you all think you're going?" John demanded.

"To our homes!" one of them answered.

"We can't abandon these people!" John said to them.

"I was only here to earn community service hours for school," another remarked. "I'm not going to stand in a bunker with a bunch of bucket-heads and wait for some slaver to get me." The other volunteers nodded in agreement. "I'm going to find my family and hope that the batarians come here as oppose to the human shelters." He waved to the other volunteers. "Come on!"

"Cowards," John growled under his breath.

John felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked over and saw it belonged to Mari. Shepard couldn't tell because of the mask, but there was a solemn sadness to her stance. "John... If you want to be with your family. Go."

"No!" Tali screamed as she wrapped her arms around Shepard. "Please don't go. Don't leave us!" She was on the brink of tears.

He wrapped his arms around her and muttered, "I'm not going anywhere, Tali." Her hug tighter. "I'm not going anywhere." John looked to Mari and let Tali go. "Mari take Tali to the bunker."

"What about you?" Mari asked.

"I'll stay out here and if the slavers come this way..." There was a pause. "I fight and try to hold them off long enough for the Alliance to get here."

"What?" the two Quarians yelled.

"Are you insane?" Mari asked rhetorically. Her tone was loud.

"No," he replied. "I'm the only one who can defend this location. None of you have weapons."

"Neither do you," Mari countered.

Shepard reached for the object on his back. He held it out in front of himself and started unraveling it. The object was a small staff with a misshapen blue crystal at the end. "My family heirloom: Nemain." A narrow blade emerged from the crystal-less end of the staff doubling the length of the object. The quick speed of its emergence made Mari and Tali jump.

"A sword?" Mari questioned. "How do you plan to take on Slavers with a sword?"

Blue and green light drifted off of Shepard's arm and onto the blade. The energy coated the blade. "This is a very special sword. It interacts with my biotics. I can put up barriers that'll protect me from the slavers' fire." The energy dissipated from the blade and John examined it. "I never told you about my childhood. Even after all the times you asked." The blade retracted back into the handle. "I was a child soldier. I was forced to fight and kill. A lot. I ran away as soon as I could and ended up on this colony. I can use my skills to defend everyone here." Shepard's eyes met with Mari. "Please take Tali into the bunker. I'll protect this shelter best I can."

"I can't let you do this!" Mari pleaded. "You'll die!"

"Then so be it!" he yelled. "Go!"

Both Mari and Tali were visibly shaken. A sadden look came across Shepard's face. John looked to Tali. "Admiral Zorah needs his wife and daughter, and Tali needs her mother."

"I need you!" Tali cried out, again holding onto him not wanting to let go.

"Tali go with your mother into the bunker and wait there until the Alliance opens it up again."

Tali was shaking from her crying. "Please stay with us. We can hide together."

"I need to make sure they don't get any of you."

"Th-Then promise me you'll be okay." Tali looked up at John.

"I-I..." For the first time in his life, he choked. "I'm sorry, Tali. I can't make a promise I don't think I can keep."

"No, no, no, no!" she cried out. Her head buried into his chest.

John forced her arms away from him and held her away while she struggled to not let him go. It tore him up to do this, but she and her mother must be safe. "Take her to the bunker." Mari hesitated. "Now!"

Mari wrapped her arms around Tali's stomach and lifted her up. Tali struggled, kicking her legs and screaming. "Let me go! Let me go! John!"

John watched as Mari and Tali entered through the bunker entrance. The blast doors closed behind them. They're safe. John sat by the window and looked upon the Horizon. He could see several Alliance frigates appear above the colony. A round was fired from the surface and impacted one of the frigates. The other two split directions and landed on either side of the city. John sat by the window watching the chaos that erupted.

After a couple of hours the gunfire died down. At that point John had thought that maybe the Alliance stopped the slavers. The figures that appeared over the horizon destroyed those hopes. There were about fifteen batarian slavers. All of them armed with assault rifles and clad in medium armor of different makes. Slowly but surely they were closing in on the quarian shelter.

Why would they still come after the quarians after dealing with the colony? he thought to himself.

One click away. Half a click. Shepard got up out of view from the window and stretched his arms and legs. A loud crack came from his back and knuckles. He may die here, but he's going to take down as many slavers as he can.

The slavers were now a hundred feet away from the shelter. That's close enough. John exited the shelter through the doors and slowly walked towards the group of slavers. The batarians saw an unarmed teenage human before them. They saw no reason to raise their arms... yet.

"Smart to come out of hiding," one of the batarians said to John. He had two scars across the middle ridge between his eyes. "You'll live long enough to be sold, unlike the group of humans who came from this direction."

"What did you do to them?" John demanded.

A few of the batarians laughed.

"Well the two males had their throats slit," one of them answered. "The four females on the other hand..." He glanced to the other slavers. "Well we let off a little steam before we put those bitches out of their misery."

The group of slavers laughed. John's grip on his retracted sword tightened. His teeth were clenched shut. Fires of rage burnt in his eyes that refused to blink. The slavers' laughter died down.

"Now get out of our way boy before you'll join your friends. Quarians fetch a good few to certain buyers."

Shepard let out a laugh.

"What's so funny?" the leader demanded.

"I was going to give you the chance to turn away and go back to your ships, but after hearing what you did... You'll die here by my hands."

This prompted the slavers to laugh in hysterics. "You? Ha! In case you haven't noticed, but we're armed and you aren't. We outnumber you fifteen to one."

"You are just terrible at math," Shepard quipped.

"Huh?"

The blade of Nemain extended from the staff. "I only count ten." Blue energy surrounded him.

"Biotic!"

They fired at him, but he vanished before the rounds impacted. The gasps of several slavers were heard. The leader look to his left and watched as five of his soldiers split apart. Their blood covered the ground where they once stood. The remaining slavers made a run for cover. The leader pulled up his omni-tool and yelled, "We've run into a biotic at the Quarian shelter! Bring me everything you have! Bring the tank we have!"

"The tank?" a voice on the other end asked in disbelief. "For a biotic?"

"Do it!"

One of the slavers was making a run for a boulder next to a hill. Shepard reappeared behind him and stabbed him through the back with his sword. Blood spilt out of the slaver's mouth. In the corner of John's eye he saw a slaver take aim at him. He lifted the impaled slaver in front of him to act as a shield as he ran forward. The biotic charge move he used to kill the five slavers made him slightly dizzy, but made the odds more favorable. Still he would not be able to use it just yet.

The slaver pulled the trigger to his assault rifle and roared as he did so. Shepard ran forward with the impaled soldier. The bullets impacted the impaled victim's shield. It was wide enough to cover John.

"Die, die, die!" the slaver screamed as he fired in vain. His eyes widen as Shepard reached him.

John jumped forward and stabbed the soldier. He used the momentum and used his sword and the batarian slaver to pole vault over him. His sword came out of their bodies. Batarian blood dripped off of his freed sword. John glared at the remaining eight soldiers. Shepard waved his arm sending a shockwave into a grouping of six soldiers.

The roar of an engine caught John's attention. A four-wheeled low-riding tank came over the hill. The turret swiveled and took aim at Shepard. The mounted gun fired. Shepard raised his arms and projected a shield just a few feet in front of him. The round impacted the shield and exploded. The shockwave from the explosion knocked him into the ground twenty feet back. The attack nearly knocked him out. Shepard got to his feet as fast as he could. He looked up and saw the turret swivel to take aim again as the tank moved forward. John ran behind the supply truck which bore the brunt of the tank round. It went up in flames. Shepard moved closer to the destroyed vehicle and listened to the movement of the tank.

Closer. Closer. Closer. Now!

John ran out from behind the flaming truck and charged directly at the tank. The turret swiveled again, but at that point he was too close. Shepard lifted his fist to manipulate the dark energy around him to lift the front end of the tank. It raised it to a forty-five degree angle. John went under it and used a throw field to push it all the ways backwards. The tank flipped backwards and landed on its top.

Shepard ran onto it and threw several warp attacks into its hull. Each attack was to disable the tank, and eventually destroy it. Flames started to emanate from one of the holes. John stood there and looked at what he accomplished. Batarian slavers were slewed all about. Either dead from dismemberment or were killed from the biotic shockwave. He was tired. Very tired. His legs barely held himself up. The barrier he had up vanished.

Two shots rang through the area. There was no pain. Shepard looked to his chest and saw two bullet holes that went clear through. Each hole was around his heart. Neither shot hit his heart, but considering how much blood he was losing, an artery was hit. Now his energy was draining from him at a more rapid rate. His left arm was now completely useless as the muscles were too damaged.

John turned around to see who shot him. There stood a very frightened slaver. It was the leader of the group. Shepard cursed himself. He was careless. John completely forgot about him while taking care of the tank. He stepped off of the tank and took ten steps towards him. The tank exploded as he walked. The explosion didn't faze him.

The slaver took a couple steps back as Shepard moved slowly towards him. There was no anger on Shepard's face. No sadness. No emotion. That's what scared the batarian the most. This... THING wasn't human. Every race would depict some emotion after being shot. Even Krogan have their blood rage. This emotionless monster wasn't human. Can't be. The slaver's arm shook to keep steady. He took aim.

John raised his right arm using dark energy to grip and lifted the slaver off of the ground. The slaver choked as he went into the air.

"P-Please," the batarian gasped. He choked between words. "M-Mercy..."

Shepard twisted his arm. A snap came from the slaver's neck. His body fell to the ground with a thud. With the battle over, John fell to the ground from his blood loss and exhaustion. The pain finally reached him. He screamed as every breath felt like knives stabbing into his chest. Blood still came from his wound. His life was leaving him.

John heard a noise in the distance. He lifted his head and saw dozens of soldiers moving towards him. All of them were just as the first group. Shepard slowly got to his feet. He swayed back and forth slightly to keep standing. This was his final moments.

"I always thought this is how I die," he said to himself. Shepard looked at Nemain and sighed contently.

John crouched down on one knee and bowed his head. His weapon was at his side. He recited his oath one last time before charging forward.

"I am a Galactic Guardian. I am the enemy of chaos and destruction. I am the protector of the innocent and meek. I am the preserver of righteousness and honor. Justice is my will. Honor is my fortitude. Morality is my strength. I won't let fear compromise who I am."

Shepard stood up and extended Nemain's blade. He let out a breath and raised his blade with his right arm. His left arm slumped to his side. John roared and charged forth at the oncoming soldiers. A loud roar echoed through the area. Explosions went off in the platoon of soldiers. The explosion knocked Shepard onto his back. From there he could see Alliance fighters. One of the fighters bombarded the platoon.

He did it. John managed to distract the batarians long enough for the Alliance to arrive. A smile crept across his face. He was content. His energy continued to drain as his wound remained untreated.

"John!" a familiar voice screamed.

Soon Tali and Mari hovered over him. Mari took out a cloth and placed it over his wound and pressed down to stop the bleeding. She cursed under her breath.

Tali clung to his weakened form. "No, no, no, no!" she cried. "Don't leave me, John! Please. Don't leave me. You're my best friend." She pulled away and looked him in the eyes.

"Oh Tali," he said weakly as he placed his right hand on the side of her helmet. "You're my best friend too."

"Tali, I need you to hold this," Mari said to her. "I'm going to try and find some medi-gel."

Tali rushed next to her mother and placed her hands over the blood soaked rag. Shepard could hear her sobbing.

"Don't cry, Tali," he cooed. "Everything is going to be okay."

"No, it's not!" she screamed. "You're dying and I-I can't lose you."

"I'm not going to die with regret, Tali. I protected this shelter. I can leave this world... happy."

"No!" she cried out. "Don't do that! Don't you dare leave! Please... I don't want you to go."

"You're a good person Tali," he whispered to her with a weak smile. "This galaxy needs a lot more people like you."

Tali was briefly quiet. Her hands left Shepard's chest and started reaching for her helmet.

"Tali, what are you doing?" John asked.

"I-I want to show you my face," she replied quietly.

"No!" he screamed. John reached up and pulled Tali to him with his right arm to stop her. Tali was shocked at the rise in tone and being pulled tightly against John. She was just an inch away from his face. His eyes showed a level of fear. "Enough lives have been lost today. Please don't throw your life."

"B-But... You've always been good to me. You're my best friend and you don't even know what I look like." Tali got up again and placed her hands on the bloody rag.

"Tali," he said in an even more quiet tone. His life was leaving him quickly. "I don't... need to see... under that helmet to know... to know that... that... you're... beautiful..." Darkness enveloped him. No longer able to feel or see the friendly Quarian girl next to him.

"John?" Tali said. "John?" She shook his chest to get a response. "Wake up! Wake up!"

"Tali!" Mari called out to her daughter. She kneeled down and saw John's closed eyes. Mari pulled up her omni-tool and did a quick scan. She stared at the results. "Tali... I'm sorry. John's... dead."

Tali started shaking. "No..." her voice was quiet but still contained the emotion of despair. Each word that came out of her mouth became louder and more distressed. "No! No! No!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. "Come back!" she screamed at Shepard's face. "C-Come back..."

VVVVVV

John floated in the dark abyss. Not feeling or experiencing anything. This is the afterlife? This is his reward for everything he's done? Doomed to spend an eternity in darkness, waiting to go mad?

"No, this is not your afterlife," a voice said in the darkness.

"Who's there?" John demanded.

A spectral being of green light or energy appeared before him. "I am the Oracle."

That name brought up memories of the trials that he was supposed to participate in. The oracle was supposed to be a spirit guide to Tiven'vian. She guides them down the path to their destinies.

"Are you here to mock me spirit," he spat out, "for being the first Tiven-vian to fail the Trials? I am now doomed to spend an eternity in this endless abyss and there is nothing to stop the cataclysm."

"I am not here to mock you, Tiven'vian, and this is not the afterlife. You did not fail the trial. You passed the Trial of Sacrifice."

"Wha-? How am I supposed to protect those around me when I'm dead? Spirits cannot interact with the physical world on that level."

"You're not truly dead. By passing your Trial you have unlocked another level of your potential. One such ability will breathe life in you once again." The energy being flowed around Shepard then formed behind him. "But before you go you must know something. You and your galaxy's government believe that Cerberus is the calamity that approaches."

"I-It's not?"

"While Cerberus is a threat, the true threat you seek to destroy is far more powerful."

"And what is this threat?"

"You will learn in time the true nature of the threat, but meanwhile you still need to complete your Trials before taking on the threat."

"I'm not interested in playing games, Oracle. What is this threat?"

"You are not yet ready to take it on," she scorned. "You are not powerful enough and you are alone. To fight against it you must become stronger and gather allies. Once the time comes, you will be ready to stand against the calamity. All I can tell you is that the threat originates from this galaxy, but has attacked your galaxy in the past. Fate will guide you in the proper direction."

Oracle placed a gentle hand on his face and whispered into his ear, "Though to show you I'm not completely unfair, I let you know this. Your final Trial: The Trial of Metamorphosis. You will die again and you will remain dormant for two years. Your return will be because of your greatest ally and greatest enemy. You will receive a vision the night before you die to warn you of the start of the Trial. Fair thee well, Tiven'vian. The fate of two galaxies rest in your hands."

VVVVVV

Tali sat on the ground and watched as her mother dragged a white cloth cover over Shepard's body. The bleeding stopped and his skin was pale. She continued to cry. As soon as the cover was over his body, Mari sat down next to Tali and wrapped her arms around her. Tali's mourning became more audible.

"There, there," Mari cooed to calm Tali.

"Why did he have to die?" Tali cried. "He was a good person. H-He was one of the few people who ever treated us like equals. H-He was m-my b-best friend. John didn't deserve this."

Mari rubbed her back. "No he didn't." Mari put an arm under Tali's knees and one behind her back and lifted her up. "Come on. You don't need to see this." Tali rested her head on Mari's shoulder and continued to cry quietly.

Just behind them the grass around Shepard's body began to die. "Mother," she said. "Look."

Mari turned around and saw the dying grass. The cover began to move like a breeze was passing by. The cover flew over to reveal Shepard's body surrounded by purple energy. Grass in a ten foot radius died out.

In an instance Shepard's body rose off of the ground. He gasped for air. The two bullet wounds healed up leaving two scars behind. The energy dissipated and John collapsed on the ground. Tali jumped out of Mari's arms and ran over to him. "John!"

His eyes opened and he smiled at Tali. "Hey... You okay?"

"I'm I o-? You were dead! I should be asking if you're okay." She hugged him.

"Just to give you a heads up, I'm about to pass out, but I'll still be-" He couldn't finish his sentence. The injuries he sustained and the amount of energy that was used to repair his body took a lot out of him.

"John!" she screamed.

Mari scanned him again. "He's still alive," she reassured. "John's just asleep. Still we should get him to a hospital as soon as possible."

VVVVVV

John's eyes opened again and saw a doctor looking at an IV bag. The doctor's eyes widen. "Oh, you're awake. You were out for the night."

"Where am I?" he asked in a raspy voice.

"Mindoir hospital. Place is pretty busy, but from what I've heard, we have you to thank for stopping the raid."

John struggled to sit up. "What?"

"Well, apparently you pissed off one of the slaver leaders and they spent a large amount of energy trying to kill you. In their distraction, the Alliance initiated a sneak attack. Not one pirate ship escaped. A lot of people died, but countless lives were saved because of you."

"And the Jacksons?"

The doctor's face went grim. "They... didn't make it."

A tear came from one of John's eyes. "Damn it," he groaned. More tears came from his eyes.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"I-It's okay."

"You have some visitors, or some people claiming to be visitors. A couple of quarians."

"Send them in!" John said without hesitation.

"Right away."

The doctor left the room. A few minutes later John could he the running of small feet. Tali ran through the door and hugged Shepard.

"Careful, I'm still tender," he joked.

"Oh, uh, sorry," she said while releasing her hug.

"I'm only joking," John said while opening his arms for a hug. Tali didn't reject the offer.

Mari walked in through the door huffing. "Tali you shouldn't run ahead like that."

"Sorry, Mother."

Mari sat down next to Shepard and said, "I'm glad you're okay, John. But how were you able to do what you did?"

"I'm a strong biotic," her replied. "I don't know exactly how I was able to subconsciously use my powers, but from what I can tell, I was able to use my powers to take biomass from organic matter around me. I'm just glad you two were not within my radius."

"How are you feeling?" Tali asked.

"Better. Much better. Um, where's Admiral Zorah?"

"He... Something came up at the fleet," Mari said. "It required his attention."

Shepard was about to voice disapproval over his actions but kept it to himself for Tali's sake.

"Where are your legal guardians?"

"They didn't make it."

VVVVVV

One week later...

Being close to seventeen years old, John did not require new legal guardians. He was also lived on government support after his promise to join the Alliance once he was of legal age. Shepard assisted with the colony's reconstruction and continued volunteering at the Quarian shelter.

John walked into a small valley. It was secluded and out of site of the colony. He pulled out his omni-tool and pressed a few buttons. The image of the Galactic Order's leaders.

"Commander," the Exion leader greeted. "It's good to see you again. Have you discovered anything new?"

"I have continued hacking the military databases of every race. Gaining intel on them. But that isn't why I have called. I have just completed the Trial of Sacrifice and I have met the Oracle."

The brows of the leaders rose. "And what did she say?" the Tia'zu leader asked.

"The threat does originate from this, but Cerberus isn't the cataclysm. It's something else. Something that attacked us once before. Do you have any idea what she means?"

The Rak'en leader piped in, "I think I know what she means. About fifty thousand years ago, a fleet of dreadnaughts appeared over our homeworld. They were unlike anything we have ever seen. If it wasn't for your race's intervention and the Tiven'vian of that time, my race would have been wiped out. The fleet was defeated, but not before three of the ships stole some of my people's and your people's technology. Of those three ships, only one escaped. The pilot of that ship spoke an unusual language. As best as we could translate it, the only thing we learned was that it called itself Vanguard. We have searched for it since, but have not come up with any leads. Till now apparently. It might be possible that the ships came from this galaxy through a wormhole, just like Cerberus. If that's the case, then Cerberus is the least of our problems."

"Yes."

"We know the need to bring Cerberus to justice, but this could be even worse than the techno-plague Cerberus unleashed on us," the Rasitian leader reminded.

"You do not need to worry, Minister. I will not let my quest to bring Cerberus to justice stand in the way of my duty."

"Glad to hear it. Our races will continue to build the fleet and hopefully have it ready in time for the cataclysm."

"How is the progress on the new medical nanobot strain?"

"Still ongoing," the Praetorin leader answered. "The samples you have given us are good. It will take time to program the nanobots to fulfill their purpose. We can't rush this."

"Understood. I'll try to keep in contact."

"Good luck in your mission Commander," the Exion leader finished.

The holographic images cut out. John looked up at the stars overhead. It was a clear night sky. "I'll protect you all," he whispered.


	3. What About Shepard?

Chapter 2: What About Shepard?

Elysium 2176 CE

The colony's city was a warzone. Several buildings were on the verge of collapse from mass-accelerated rounds. Smoke plumed into the air. Gunfire could be heard all over. There's a free-standing bridge that connects the colony city to the land across from it over a deep canyon. The canyon was at least two miles deep. The edges were steep with no way to climb down. The rapids at its bottom seemed motionless.

Large droves of civilians were fleeing the colony over the bridge. Hundreds, nay thousands, were finishing their retreat from the war torn city. Two soldiers were next to the bridge arguing over the current situation.

"I told you to get the civilians out of here, Private!" Shepard roared.

"I can't let you do this, Sarge," the soldier said. "It's suicide!"

"Someone has to make sure none of the slavers move across this bridge. I need you and the rest of the squad to escort the civilians to safety. I'll destroy the bridge as soon as you get across. I'll hold my ground here and keep the slavers distracted while you take the civilians to safety at Hades Ridge."

"But-"

"I gave you an order!" Shepard grabbed his armor by the collar and yelled in his face. "Now get the civilians out of here!"

"Yes, sir!" He turned to the ground of refugees. "Move it people!"

Shepard watched as the remaining civilians crossed over the bridge. The Private nodded at Shepard and then ran across the bridge. John's biotics flared and his focused his energy and threw a warp at the bridge, near his end. He threw another ball. And then another. The bridge creaked as it weakened.

With a loud crash, the bridged flipped inwards and hit the cliff wall opposing Shepard. The material on the other side of the bridge started to give away. The material screeched and roared as the bridge torn away at its base. It fell and soon vanished from eyesight.

Sergeant Shepard turned around and witnessed the approaching slavers. A smile came across his face as he reached for Nemain.

He lifted the blade over his head and roared, "For the Order!"

VVVVVV

Akuze 2177 CE

Rain pounded the jungle. A several shuttle were filling with retreating soldiers; roughly forty of them. Two of them took off leaving one left.

"Just room for one," the soldier commented.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Shepard chided. "Get in."

"Sir, you are the commanding officer here and-" He couldn't get his sentence out before Shepard clocked him in the face and shoved him in the craft.

Shepard looked at the soldiers and said, "Get out of here and send me a rescue as soon as possible. If that rescue doesn't come I'm building a fucking ship out of bark and eezo and coming to kick each of your asses! Is that clear?"

"Sir, yes, sir," the soldiers roared back.

"Good, get out of here!"

The door to the shuttle closed shut. Shepard backed away from the shuttle as it took off, leaving him there in the wet humid jungle. The shuttles disappeared from eyesight.

A roar echoed throughout the area. The maws were quickly approaching. Shepard watched as a gigantic creatures rise up from the forest. Blue fluorescent light glowed from its mouth appendage. The maw looked at Shepard and roared.

Blue energy formed around Shepard's arms. Nemain came alive as its blade emerged from its staff.

The ground rumbled again. Three more maws emerged out of the ground. Shepard's eyes shifted between the four. Thunder cracked as he roared and charged forth at his gargantuan foes.

VVVVVV

Torfan 2178 CE

The battle to take the base was long and grueling. At first the battle didn't seem to be in favor of the Alliance. The Batarian slavers were heavily entrenched and the hill gave them a high ground advantage.

One of the commanding officers suggested sending a squad to act as a distraction to the bunkers while another infiltrate their defenses. Lieutenant Shepard immediately dismissed the idea and came up with an alternate plan. He created make-shift holograms to act as the distraction. The soldiers did ask how Shepard was able to create colored holograms when even politicians were still using the orange representations. To that he only replied, "I'm using holograms instead of soldiers as a distraction and you're asking questions?"

The bunkers were distracted long enough for Shepard's squad to go in and take the base with few casualties. But after the slavers were captured, it led to a new conflict. Many of the soldiers just wanted to kill the prisoners for their crimes. This led to a standoff between Shepard and one of the soldiers.

"Lieutenant, they need to die," the soldier said.

"No, Colonel," Shepard said.

The colonel had his pistol aimed at the batarian's head.

"You can't kill him, Colonel- Dmitri. He's done. Arrested. All you'll be achieving is a war crime!"

"And what about what they've done?" he screamed. "These bastards killed hundreds and sold hundreds more as slaves. It's bastards like this who attacked our colonies. Like Mindoir. You killed dozens on Mindoir!"

"Dozens who were attacking my position. They outnumbered me and were armed with firearms. I killed to protect myself and the shelter I was defending! They were not unarmed prisoners of war. Don't do this."

"Why not?" he demanded.

"Because..." Shepard said before pausing. "Once you go down this path... Justifying the execution of POWs. Once you go down that path... You will never be able to return from it. We are Alliance soldiers. We say we are better than the enemy, but killing unarmed POWs just brings us down to their level." He gestured to the batarian prisoner whom was shaking from fear of dying. He stared down the barrel of the gun pointing at his head. "We- You are better than that."

The colonel stared at the batarian with a look of pure hatred on his face. Shepard watched as the decision stirred around his thoughts. The look of tension disappeared from Dmitri's face. "You're right. I'm sorry, LT."

VVVVVV

2183 CE

"Well, what about Shepard?" Udina suggested. "He grew up on Mindoir, but he wasn't born there. It does not say here where he was born."

"No one knows except him," Anderson answered. "DNA tests turn up nothing. Technically he didn't exist before Mindoir. All we know is he had a rough upbringing. A child soldier. Escaped a mercenary company at age ten and made his way to Mindoir. He doesn't really talk about his time before Mindoir much. About six years after his arrival the colony was attacked by slavers. He lost his legal guardians in that attack. Shepard defended the Quarian shelter there and nearly died in doing so. During that defense he apparently angered the slaver leaders. This distracted them while Alliance ships infiltrated the colony's space. The slaver attack was stopped in part due to him."

"Can we trust someone who has secrets about their past like that, especially when they admitted to being a mercenary?"

"I doubt it was his choice," Anderson scorned, "especially since he was a child. Escaping at ten only proves that. Anyways we all have secrets. Shepard isn't any different."

"I see 'unknown' for combat proficiency."

"The Commander displays skills unknown of any class of Alliance soldier," Hackett chirped in. "Usually we divide soldiers into six different categories: Soldier, Adept, Engineer, Sentinel, Vanguard and Infiltrator. Shepard's combat skills exceed anyone of a soldier class. His biotics, despite not having an implant, are far more superior that any Adept in the service. It's even comparable to an Asari Matriarch. Commander Shepard's technical aptitude is genius levels, above any engineer's capabilities. He co-created the Normandy and single-handedly created the new Tantalus drive core and stealth systems. It's due to his skills that we cannot classify his combat proficiency."

"Interesting. What about his military history?"

"Unquestionable," Anderson quickly answered. "He's considered a legend in the Alliance."

"He evacuated the civilians on Elysium during the Blitz and held off the slavers single-handedly," Hackett informed. "That colony still stands because of him. A year later his squad was ambushed by Thresher Maws. It was the first encounter with these creatures for the Alliance. Luck was on the side of that squad, because Shepard knew exactly what they were. He saved eighty percent of his squad and gave up the last seat on the shuttle for his squad mate. It was a week before we were able to send rescue. By the time they came to Akuze they found the area littered with Thresher Maws corpses with Shepard eating their meat. Even that event made him popular with the krogans. A year after that was Torfan. Despite military tacticians expecting heavy losses, Shepard was able to take the base with minimal losses. Something that isn't well known in the public was that many of the soldiers wanted to execute the prisoners they took. Shepard defused the situation and the Alliance took in a record number of prisoners which lead to good Intel of slaver networks around the Traverse."

"Is this the kind of person we want protecting the galaxy?" Udina asked to clarify the opinion of the two Alliance officers.

"Ambassador, if you can find a soldier better suited to the task, you are more than welcomed to find him or her. Shepard is the best we have."

"I'll make the call."


	4. War Breaks Out

Chapter 3: War Breaks Out

Anderson was working on his console when his door opened. He looked over and saw Shepard walk in. "Commander! Something wrong?"

"Actually yes," Shepard said while stepping in. "Captain, I have been making requests for leave for the past several months now and my requests have been repeatedly denied."

"Commander, Shepard, I'm sorry about that, but I don't really..."

Shepard was five feet away from him. He casted Anderson a glare that made him feel uneasy. "In the past ten years of my service I have only taken one voluntary personal leave. To comfort my closest friend who lost her mother five years ago. At this point I have 254 days saved up. I need to take some time."

"I'm sure the delay will end soon. Might be able to take your leave next month-"

"I can't wait that long. That same friend has gone on her pilgrimage and now she hasn't contacted me in a few weeks."

"I'm sure it slipped her mind," Anderson suggested.

"In the sixteen years I have known her; we have never missed our weekly talks. She's in trouble and I'm the only one who can help her."

"If she's that important to you, Shepard, I can see if I can get someone to find her."

"She's a quarian, Captain. No one outside the Flotilla will care about her. No one else will be willing to look for her. I'm the only one who can find her."

"I'm sorry Shepard, there's nothing-"

"I'll be straight with you, Captain," Shepard interrupted him. "I made a promise to her mother that I would always watch over her. I honor my promises. Always. Regardless of the consequence. Unless a war breaks out during this mission, I'm leaving to find her. Whether I have your permission or not."

With that final thought Shepard left Anderson's room. Anderson sighed loudly and rested his face in his hands.

VVVVVV

Shepard walked down the left side of the CIC while Joker was updating the ship's crew of the preparation to use the Arcturus Prime relay. Shepard reached the cockpit and stood next to Nihlus. A turian Spectre clad in Phantom armor. Blue light shone as the Normandy reached the Relay. The light intensified until they saw the red light they usually saw during relay transits. The ship emerged out of the corresponding relay.

Joker check the ship's systems. "Thrusters... Check. Navigation... Check. Internal emissions sink engaged. All systems engaged. Drift... Just under 1500k."

"1500 is good," Nihlus commented. "Your Captain will be pleased." He turned around and walked away from the cockpit.

Joker glared at him and turned to the front and said, "I hate that guy."

"Nihlus gave you a compliment... So you hate him?" Kaidan said with a hint of amusement.

Shepard walked up behind Joker and Kaidan.

"Remember to zip up you're your jumpsuit when you left the bathroom?" Joker said sarcastically. "That's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pin head. So that's incredible! Besides Spectres are trouble. I don't like having them on board. Call me paranoid."

"You're paranoid," Kaidan responded. "The Council helped fund this project. They have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment."

"Yeah that is the official story. But only an idiot believes the official story."

"They don't usually send Spectres on shakedown runs," Shepard muttered to join the conversation. "While Kaidan's right about the Council keeping an eye on their investment,a Spectre doesn't really add up. Why not send an engineer, a supervisor or a bureaucrat?"

"So there's more going on than we know," Joker finished.

"Joker! Status report!" Anderson roared over the comm. link.

"Just cleared the mass relay, Captain. Stealth systems engaged. Everything looks solid."

"Good. Find a comm. buoy and link us into the network. I want mission reports relayed back to Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime."

"Aye, aye, Captain. Better brace yourself, sir. I think Nihlus is heading your way."

"He's already here, Lieutenant."

Joker shook his head in embarrassment.

"Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm. room for a debriefing."

"You get that, Commander?"

"He sounds upset," Shepard observed. "Something must have gone wrong."

"Captain always sounds like that when he's talking to me."

"Can't imagine why," Kaidan said rhetorically.

With that Shepard made his way down the CIC, briefly speaking his Navigator Pressley and his concern about Nihlus. Before he reached the comm. room, he ran in his squad mate Jenkins and Doctor Chakwas. Happen to run into them while they were talking about Nihlus.

Jenkins stood up straight and saluted Shepard. "What do you think Commander? We won't be staying long on Eden Prime too long, will we? I'm itching for some action."

"I sincerely hope you're kidding, Corporal," Chawkas chided. "Your 'real action' usually ends up with me patching up crew members in the infirmary."

"Only fools look for a fight, Corporal," Shepard said. "A good soldier stays cool under fire and hopes the unexpected doesn't happen."

"Sorry Commander," Jenkins apologized. "But this waiting's killing me. I've never been on a mission like this before. Not one with a Spectre on board."

"Just treat this like every other assignment you've had and everything will work out."

"Easy for you to say," Jenkins pointed out. "You proves yourself during the Blitz, Akuze and Torfan. Everyone knows what you can do."

"You're young, Jenkins. You have a long career ahead of you. Don't make mistakes."

"Don't worry, sir, I won't."

"Do either of you know anything about Nihlus?"

"I've barely said a couple words to him," Chakwas answered. "So we don't really know too much."

"What do you know about the Spectres?"

"Only they answer directly to the Council and act as a shadow organization. Their job is protect galactic stability."

"Protect it at any costs," Jenkins corrected. "Spectres operate outside the law. Humanity's been trying to get one of us in their organization for years. You know, Commander, you would make a good Spectre! You're a war hero. A legend in the Alliance. You held off forces on Elysium single-handedly. Killed a dozen maws on Akuze and took that base on Torfan."

"You've been watching too many spy movies, Jenkins," Chakwas sighed. "The Spectres aren't interested in recruiting any of us. All of this is just wild speculation."

"I should get to the comm. room," Shepard said. "Don't want to keep the Captain waiting."

John walked through the door of the comm. room and saw Nihlus standing there. Nihlus was viewing an image from Eden Prime. He turned around. "Ah, Commander. I was hoping you would get here first. Gives us time to talk."

"What about?"

"I want to know more about this colony."

"Haven't been there myself," Shepard answered. "But I've heard it's a paradise."

"Yes... Eden Prime is a symbol to your people. A perfect little world at the edge of your territory." Nihlus turned around to face the screen. "Proof that humanity can not only establish colonies, but also protect them. But how safe is it really?" Nihlus faced Shepard again.

"Are you going to stop playing games, Nihlus, and tell me what's going on?"

"You're quick to catch on."

"I think it's time we tell the Commander what's really going on," Anderson said as he walked up to them, after hearing part of their conversation.

"This mission is far more than a shakedown run."

"I figured as much."

"The Normandy is making a covert pickup. That's why we needed the stealth systems."

"The Prothean artifact."

Anderon's and Nihlus' eyes widen.

"How did you know that?" Anderson demanded. "This was classified."

"I have informants," he replied. "One of them heard rumors of this artifact on Eden Prime."

"That's... Very unsettling," he said. "We wanted to do this covertly, so the Terminus systems don't get wind of this. If they do, they might attack to get this Prothean beacon."

"If they do that that would start a war with the Council races."

"The Terminus might be willing to risk it, to get their hands on intact Prothean. The fact that an informant told you this means that the pickup's been compromised-"

"My informant is the best of the best. He would not leak this information and only he would be able to get this information."

"Well, there's more. Nihlus isn't just here for the beacon. He's here to evaluate you."

"The Spectres are considering humans?"

"The Alliance have been pushing for this for a long time. Humanity wants a larger role in shaping interstellar policy. We want more say with the Citadel Council. The Spectres represent the Council's power and authority. If they accept a human into their ranks, it shows how far the Alliance has come."

"I was... beyond impressed reading your record. Genius intellect, extremely powerful biotics. Your actions in the Blitz, Akuze and Torfan. If I didn't see the records myself I would have called your military history a series of hyperbolic tales. Your impressive credentials are the reason why I put your name forward as a Spectre candidate."

"Is this why the Alliance has been denying my every request for leave?" Shepard said in an annoyed voice.

"This is important, Shepard," Anderson responded in an equally annoyed voice. "I'm sorry about your friend, but you have to think of humanity."

"What's this about a friend?"

"My friend of sixteen years disappeared and I have been desperately trying to get some leave to go find her. I already have her general location thanks to the same informants I mentioned."

"Considering your same informants were able to discover information about the beacon, it's likely their information about your friend is solid," Nihlus commented. "I'll tell you what Commander. After this mission, I'll help you find your friend."

"I-I'd really appreciate that Nihlus. I promised her dead mother I'd look out for her."

Nihlus' mandibles scuttled. "A death bed promise. We turians understand honor and promises. Especially when you make a promise to someone before they died. I'll be sure to help you keep it."

"Captain, we have a problem," Joker said over the ship's comm.

"What's wrong, Joker?"

"Transmission from Eden Prime, sir. You better see this!"

The holoscreen before them changed to a recording of a battle on Eden Prime. A female soldier in white and pink armor warning of an invasion. The three soldiers watched the screen but couldn't who they were fighting. The video then ends with static.

"Everything cuts out after that," Joker said. "No comm. traffic. Just goes dead. There's nothing."

"Reverse and hold at 38.5," Anderson ordered.

The video reversed and held at 38.5 seconds. It showed a red Dreadnaught that had red lighting spark around it.

"Geth," Shepard mumbled.

Again Nihlus and Anderson stared at Shepard.

"Okay, now how in the hell do you know that?"

"Same informants, notified me of increased geth activity around the Perseus veil. Even spotting one ship leave it briefly and go back in."

"Why didn't you report that?" Nihlus demanded.

"'You're overreacting, Commander.' 'The geth are probably just doing patrols.' I did report it to several organizations. Alliance, C-Sec. None of them took me seriously. That dreadnaught right there would need an advance drive core to be able to enter atmosphere like that. Geth are the only faction I can think of who can possibly have that kind of technology."

"Geth... Why would they leave the Veil now?"

"We'll find out on the ground."

"Gear up, Commander," Anderson ordered. "Jenkins and Alenko are joining you groundside."

Nihlus left the room. Anderson and Shepard still looked at the odd ship.

"Looks like a war started," Shepard sighed as he headed towards the cargo hold.


	5. The Vision

Chapter 4: The Vision

Despite Shepard's protests, Nihlus went out on his own. Shepard's squad, including Jenkins and Kaidan, was dropped off by a shore. Mass-accelerated round could be seen firing into the skies all over the colony. The sky was an orange-red color and was filled with the plumes of smoke from dozens of fires. The squad moved forward and spotted some floating creatures.

"What are those?" Kaidan pointed.

"Gas bags," Jenkins answered. "Don't worry, they're harmless."

"Don't get distracted," Shepard chided. "We have to reach the dig site."

"Aye, aye," the two soldiers replied.

Shepard's squad approached a clearing filled with rocks. They stopped next to some rocks as Shepard scanned the area. It seemed clear. He signals Jenkins to move forward to a small cropping of rocks. A whirling sound is heard as two geth drones came out from behind some rocks and opened fire on Jenkins.

Jenkins screamed as the round went right through his shield. Shepard slid out from his cover and his hands glowed with dark energy. The two drones were enveloped in energy. Shepard slammed his hands together. The drones were flung against each other and exploded from the impact. Shepard and Kaidan rushed to Jenkins side. He was dead. Shepard gently closed his eyes.

"Went right through his shield," Kaidan commented.

"We'll see that he gets a ceremony, but right now I need you to keep your wits about."

"Yes, Commander."

Several more drones entered the area and opened fire on the two soldiers. Shepard and Kaidan took cover behind the rock cropping that Jenkins failed to reach. Kaidan took out his assault rifle while John pulled out his pistol. Shepard was only armed with two weapons: Nemain, his sword, and a pistol. When there was a break in the fire Kaidan and Shepard popped out of cover and fired back. Kaidan's shots hit one of the drones causing it to malfunction and whirl out of control and collided with another drone. Shepard's two shots from his pistol were extremely accurate as his two rounds pierced through the drones' optics rendering them useless. The drones self-destructed to avoid capture.

Shepard ran over to one of the drones and pulled up his omni-tool. A screen appeared above his tool as it downloaded data.

"What are you doing?" Kaidan asked.

The screen flashed to notify Shepard that the download was complete. "Gathering data on the geth." Shepard tapped a few buttons. "Hold out your omni-tool."

Kaidan followed suit and Shepard held out his. Both omni-tools flashed.

"There. Your shield is now calibrated to be 78.3 percent more resistant against pulse rounds."

"That fast?" Kaidan said in disbelief.

"I can make a ship out of bark and eezo," he joked. "I can calibrate shields to be more resistant against certain types of attacks."

Kaidan let out a small chuckle, wondering whether it was appropriate to do so soon after Jenkin's demise.

"Loads of burnt out buildings here, Shepard," Nihlus said over the comm. "A lot of bodies. I'm going to check it out. I'll meet you at the dig site."

"Aye, aye," Shepard said back. "See you there. Nihlus, I'm sending you a program to execute. It'll upgrade your shields to be more resistant against geth rounds."

"Got it," Nihlus confirmed. "Thank you, Commander."

The two soldiers went through a forest and fought another group of geth. The shield upgrade was a large improvement. Their shields were more tolerable to the pulse rounds. The two biotics were able to get through the forest with little trouble.

They entered a clearing where they saw a female soldier being chased by two geth drones. The soldier jumped to the ground and rolled over to fire two rounds at the two drones. Each round destroyed the drones. The soldier got to her feet and watched as two geth troopers placed a man on a strange device. She squinted to see better.

A spike shot up, impaling the man. The two geth turned and looked at her. She ran back to take cover behind a cropping of rocks. Several more geth joined the two troopers.

"Kaidan keep them busy!" Shepard ordered.

Kaidan opened fire on the geth squad, gaining their attention. Shepard went behind a rock and focused his energy on lifting a large rock out of the ground. The rock slowly pulled out of the ground as Kaidan and the female soldier fired at the approaching synthetics. The boulder came out of the ground and glowed blue from Shepard's biotics.

Shepard stepped out from his cover and yelled to the geth, "Hey!"

The geth looked towards him.

"For Jenkins!" Shepard whipped his arm sending the boulder into the squad of geth, crushing them instantly. White synthetic fluids were splattered all over the ground. He took a breath.

"That... was a bit overkill wasn't it, Commander?" Kaidan asked in a slightly joking tone.

"Nah," Shepard waved the thought away.

The woman ran up to them and removed her helmet. "Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212. And I have to say, sir, that biotic display was incredible. Those synthetic bastards didn't stand a chance. Are you the one in charge here, sir?"

"Yes," Shepard replied. "Are you okay?"

"Some scrapes and burns nothing I can't handle."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"We were patrolling the perimeter when we were attacked. We tried to get out a distress call, but they cut our communication. We tried to double back to the dig site, but we ran into an ambush. I think I'm the only one who escaped."

"It's not your fault, Chief," Shepard assured her. "Geth are masters at ambushing. Don't breath, make noise or move when unnecessary."

"So they really are geth. Thanks, sir."

"Have you seen a turian Spectre come through here?"

"Can't say I have, sir. Not that I could tell if he was a spectre."

"Trust me, you would," Kaidan said. "He's equipped to take on a small army."

"Can you take us to that dig site?"

"Yes, sir. I look forward to getting payback."

"Just let me quickly upgrade your shields," he said as waved his omni-tool. Her omni-tool flashed along with her shield. "Better. Move out."

Kadian and Ashley walked next to Shepard towards the dig site.

"I didn't get your names."

Shepard nodded to Kaidan, "This is Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko. I'm Commander Shepard."

"THE Commander Shepard?" she gasped.

"I guess," Shepard replied.

"Sorry, sir, it's just that you're a legend in the Alliance. It's good to have you here."

"Geth!" Kaidan yelled.

They took cover behind several of the boulders and exchanged fire with the synthetic beings. With the extra soldier, the geth posed an even less of a threat. They were terminated quickly allowing the three Alliance soldiers to enter the dig site. It was empty.

"The beacon was here," Ashley said in disbelief. "It must have moved it."

"Which side?" Kadian asked. "Their side or ours?"

"Don't know. Maybe we'll know more at the research camp."

"You think there are any survivors?" Shepard asked.

"Maybe, some at the nearby research camp just up the ramp."

Shepard moved forward with the two close behind him.

"Change in plan, Shepard," Nihlus reported in over his omni-tool. "There's a space port just ahead. I'll meet you there."

Shepard's group neared the top of the ramp when an eerie metallic groan was made. They reached the top of the ramp and saw that the camp was almost utterly destroyed. Fires all over the place and a few more of the alien spikes with humans impaled at the top.

"Looks like they hit the camp hard," Ashley commented.

"Keep your guard up," Kaidan cautioned. "This is a good place for an ambush."

Shepard's focus was on the spikes. The humans at the top didn't look human anymore. They looked like a mixture of organic and synthetic tissue. The remaining organic flesh was grey from decay. The spikes shook and then lowered.

"My god they're still alive!" Kaidan gasped.

"What did the geth do to them?" Ashley asked out loud.

The creatures stood up away from the spikes and looked at Shepard's squad. It moaned. That noise caused Shepard to have flashbacks. The memories of his battles he participated in as a child rushed through his mind. The millions of undead he was forced to fight. Thousands he killed personally. So many dead bodies were left over after the network was shut down. The family and friends he lost to these monsters.

The terror he felt turned into anger. Unrelenting anger. His life was ruined because of these things. He pulled out his pistol and Nemain and his body coated itself in dark energy. John biotically charged forward and slammed into one of the husks. In a swift movement, he aimed his pistol at the head of another husk and fired a round into its head. The last husk was cut in half vertically.

Kaidan and Ashley stood there in shock. "Remind me to never piss off the Commander," Ashley said.

Shepard regained his composure and felt slightly embarrassed that he just lost it there. Kaidan and Ash cautiously approached him.

"Are you okay, Commander?" Kaidan asked.

"Yah, I'm fine, just... Come on, let's keep moving."

Kaidan decided against pushing the subject. He knew about Shepard's rough upbringing as a child soldier. It would be expected that certain... elements would upset him.

Shepard saw movement between the shutters of one of the buildings. He signaled to his squad to move up quietly. John opened his omni-tool and hacked through the door. It slid open and he went in with his pistol raised.

"Don't shoot!" a woman yelled. Her eyes widen. "Humans! Thank god."

"Hurry, close the door!" the other scientists pleaded. "Before they come back."

Shepard lowered his pistol. "Don't worry. We'll protect you."

"It's okay," the woman reassured. "It looks like everyone's gone."

"You're Doctor Warren," Ashley said. "In charge of the excavation. Do you know what happened to the beacon?"

"It was moved to the spaceport this morning," Warren answered. "Manuel and I stayed behind to pack up the camp. When the attack happened, the marines held them off while we hid. They gave their lives to save us."

"No one is saved!" Manuel interrupted. "The age of Humanity is ended. Soon, only ruins and corpses will remain."

"Is your assistant okay?" Shepard asked.

"Manuel has a brilliant mind, but he's always been a bit... unstable. Genius and madness are two sides of the same coin."

"Is it madness to see the future?" Manuel asked. "To see the destruction rushing towards us? To understand that there is no escape? No hope? No, I am not mad. I'm the only sane one here."

"I gave him an extra dose of his meds after the attack."

"The prophet led the geth here. He is the bringing of the destruction that is to come!"

"Who is this prophet?" Shepard asked genuinely curious.

"The turian. He came here with the geth."

"A turian?"

"Can't be Nihlus," Kaidan commented.

"Guess, we'll find out. Come on."

VVVVVV

Nihlus saw something move ahead so he took cover. He waited a second and then stepped out again aiming his assault rifle at whoever was ahead. Nihlus got a good look at the person and immediately recognized him as his mentor, "Saren?"

Saren turned around to see him. His right arm was synthetic with metal plates on his head. Saren's eyes glowed blue from his artificial eyes. "Nihlus," he stated. Saren slowly walked towards Nihlus.

"This isn't your mission, Saren. What are you doing here?"

"The Council thought you could use some help on this one," Saren assured him. He walked by him, patted him on the shoulder and walked behind him.

Nihlus dropped him guard. "I wasn't expecting to find geth here. The situation's bad."

"Don't worry," Saren said as he turned around. He pulled out his hand cannon and aimed at the back of Nihlus' head. "I've got it under control."

VVVVVV

A loud bang echoed throughout the area.

"You heard that?" Ash asked out loud.

"Wasn't the geth," Shepard said.

"It might be Ni- What is that?" Kaidan pointed.

A large red dreadnaught arose from behind the horizon. A trail of red smoke and lightning followed it as it took off from the planet's surface.

"That thing is massive!" Ashley gasped.

The ship was crimson red and looked like the cuttlefish of earth. It quickly flew out of eyesight.

"Come on, we need to find Nihlus!" Shepard reminded.

Several dragon teeth ahead activated and lowered down. Half a dozen husks groaned and moaned as they woke up.

"Looks like we need to take care of these husks," Ashley said, "before we find your Turian friend."

VVVVVV

"What the hell are you doing?" Nihlus roared as he took cover. He mentally thanked the spirits for Shepard sending him that shield upgrade. That round would've killed him otherwise.

"I'm trying to protect this galaxy!"

"That's not what I see here!"

"You don't understand, Nihlus. A force of darkness is coming to this galaxy and I'm trying to preserve our galaxy. Adapt to it."

"You're insane!"

Saren threw a warp at his cover, destroying it. Nihlus moved over by the garage door. A human was cowered there.

"Don't kill me!" he pleaded.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Trying to survive!"

Saren threw a grenade at Nihlus' newest cover. The grenade was unsuccessful is destroying his new cover, but it was enough to scare the man into making a run for it. Saren aimed with his geth pulse rifle and fired a burst at the fleeing human. The unarmored human didn't stand a chance. He fell over filled with bullet holes. Dead before he hit the ground.

Nihlus popped out of cover and fired his rifle at Saren in full force. Saren's barrier seems to absorb all of his attacks. Saren raised his geth rifle and fired. The rounds were stronger than the other geth rifles. The rounds depleted his shields and one bullet penetrated his armor. Nihlus let out a roar of pain. Blue blood came from his wound.

Saren threw his last grenade just next to Nihlus' cover. Nihlus slid across the ground the best he could to simultaneously avoid Saren's fire and the grenade's blast. He wasn't far enough. The shockwave threw him into the wall. His left side of his face was covered in blood.

Saren walked to the cover Nihlus was behind to see if he was dead. He heard gunfire very close by and it was getting louder. Saren's plans could not be delayed. The traitor Spectre made haste to the tram to reach the beacon.

Shortly after his departure, Shepard and his squad arrived at the port. It was a mess. There were fires everywhere along with blood that covered the walls and ground. A human was just ten feet to their left who died from a dozen rounds to his torso. Shepard's eyes were drawn to the blue blood.

"Turian blood," Shepard observed. He followed it around the crates and saw Nihlus slumped up against the wall. "Nihlus!" John ran to him and crouched down.

Kaidan started doing scans on him with his omni-tool. "He's lost a good amount of blood, cuts, burns, and a concussion."

Shepard applied his medi-gel to his wounds. "Here. This will help."

"C-Commander..." Nihlus tried to say. His breathing was labored. It was a struggle for his to breathe. Too painful.

"Rest easy," Shepard said. "The drugs should be keeping in soon to ease the pain. My squad and I will take care of the geth, for what they did to you."

"Not geth," Nihlus wheezed.

"Not geth?"

"Saren!" Nihlus gasped. It was a last burst of energy. To say what he could before his passed out. "He leads them. He's gone rogue. Leave me! Take the tram! Find the beacon! Stop him..." Nihlus passed out.

"Vitals are stable, Commander," Kaidan said.

"He should be okay here. Come on we need to find this beacon."

VVVVVV

Saren looked at the glowing beacon. He turned to the geth next to the beacon and said, "Set the charges. Leave no evidence of us bring here."

The geth nodded and went over to set the nuclear devices with the other platforms.

Saren approached the beacon. A burst of energy emanated from it. Saren levitated in the air to receive the beacon's message.

VVVVVV

The tram reached its destination. Every geth in the area was notified of its presence. Shepard saw several bombs in just his line of sight. "Dammit, they set up bombs!" Shepard roared. "Cover me while I disarm them!"

Despite the geth's advancement in technology, their security on the bombs was laughable. His personal decryption program took a few seconds to disarm each of the bombs. Ashley and Kaidan worked in perfect unison in covering him. Kaidan would occasionally use overload, with great success, against the geth, while Ashley used her assault rifle to its full potential.

The last bomb was disarmed to the relief of Kaidan and Ashley. All that was left was the beacon. The beacon glowed with a brilliant green light. The area was cleared and the beacon was secured.

Shepard opened his comm. link. "Normandy, we've recovered the beacon. We need pick-up at my location and at the other end of the spaceport for Nihlus..."

"An actual working beacon," Kaidan said in disbelief. "Incredible."

"It wasn't doing anything like that when they first dug it up," Ash commented. She slowly approached the Prothean relic. A burst of energy came from the device. A force started to pull Ashley towards it.

Shepard did a double take at Ash before charging in. He jumped up and grabbed Ash by the waist. John threw her away as far as he could before the beacon pulled him into the air.

"Commander!" Ashley tried to run to him.

Kaidan grabbed her and yelled, "No! It's too dangerous!"

Images rushed through Shepard's head. Millions being slaughtered on many worlds. Synthetic creatures. A roar from the ship they saw earlier as it stood before an eclipsed planet. Pain shot through his entire body. The beacon overloaded and the blast knocked Shepard to the ground causing him to finally black out.

VVVVVV

"Commander..."

John's eyes twitched open. He was in the abyss again. John hasn't visited the abyss since the Mindoir raid.

"Oracle," he mumbled.

The female figure appeared before him. He still couldn't tell what race she was. The Oracle never appeared before him as anything but as an energy-being of purples light.

"And the first step on your journey truly begins."

"T-That vision. That was the threat. The one that threatens to engulf both our galaxies."

"Yessss."

"W-What is it?"

"A race of sentient machines known as Reapers. They are more powerful than anything either your galaxy or their galaxy has ever faced. This is why I have been guiding the Tiven'Vians for so long. To preserve your people till it was ready to fight."

"My race is extinct!" Shepard bellowed.

"Yes, but the Galactic Order is still your people. And we both know your race isn't truly gone."

"T-That's not that same, spirit. What you speak of. That's not the same."

"However you want to see it as doesn't change what must be done. You'll embark on a journey to stop Saren and the Reapers. Only you can do this."

"Tell me spirit. Why my race? Why me? Why not a race from this galaxy?"

Oracle was silent for a moment. "I've tried. For millions of years I've tried, but the races here... They never worked out. Also falling to the same fate. Over and over again. Nothing ever changed. Either I was ignored as psychosis or there wasn't enough will from the people."

"Were you from this galaxy?"

Again the Oracle was silent. "Yes."

"Did the Reapers wipe out your race?"

"Yes."

"That doesn't explain how you reach my galaxy, my universe."

"You do know that that wormhole has opened before."

"Yes," John replied. "Fifty thousand years ago when the Reapers attacked us." He assumed that the dreadnaughts the Order mentioned were the Reapers. Ships of the sentient machines.

"It's opened many times before then. The first time it opened was around the time my race existed. We discovered your universe, your galaxy, but we did not have the technology required to go through and back. The wormhole closed, but reopened again. This process repeated for millions of years. Each time it appeared, its duration lasted longer and the time between openings was shortened. This time... This time it's opened for good. Your galaxies are now permanently tied to one another. Fates intertwined."

Oracle drifted around the abyss and showed Shepard images of stars and galaxies. "After trying to stop the Reapers for ten million years, I decided that there was too much order in the destruction that the Reapers brought. Always went according to their plans. Chaos had to be injected into their order. That's where you galaxy comes in. You are free of any Reaper influence. A completely different path than what the Reapers expected. With your galaxy it was possible to stop the Reapers. I spent millions of years wandering your galaxy looking for a race that would be the champion of two parallel realities. After my search I came upon your race when it was in the Bronze Age. Your people were an honorable race and had a spirit unrivaled by anything race I have ever encountered before. A benefit I found in your race was Tiven'Vians. A special born who is imbued with powers to act as a protector of your people. Tiven'Vians were the focus of my attention. I have acted as a spirit guide to every generation of Tiven'Vians since then. I watched over your people. Though eventually it got to the point where your race couldn't wait any longer. That battle your race had with the Reapers, destroyed many of them, but made the ones who remained in this galaxy stronger. They learned and adapted to the technology of that time. The final opening of the wormhole finally commenced. I had to induce interaction between your galaxy and this one."

"W-What do you mean by 'induce interaction'?"

"I tried contacting many scientists and other of influence to find the wormhole and your galaxy. So many of them concluded I was a dream or stress. I eventually found an individual who listened to me."

"Who?" John demanded.

"You know who."

Shepard's eyes widen. His fists tightened and blood boiled. "You led them to us."

"The Illusive Man was the only one who listened-"

"You led them to us!"

"I never expected they would do what they did."

"You led them to us!" Shepard roared. "You bitch!" He tried to grab the Oracle by the throat, but his hands went through her. "My whole race is extinct because of you! Trillions were killed because of you!"

Oracle moved around Shepard to avoid his attacks.

"My childhood! My family! My friends! All dead because of you!"

Energy from the spirit formed around his wrists and ankles to restrain him.

"I didn't mean for any of this to happen!" she cried. "You think I wanted them to slaughter trillions? I didn't! I loved your race! You were all my children. To watch you all die, and not be able to do anything about it, was painful. I just wanted to start interaction between your galaxy and theirs. I didn't think they would be so irresponsible or destructive. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Shepard calmed a little. The restraints disappeared. "If-" he tried to say, but felt guilty to say what he was going to say. "If you hadn't instigated the interaction, the Reapers would've killed us all."

"Yes..."

"I-I just don't know what to feel. I'm tired. I'm so tired of all this. I'm been on a mission since I was five. Never really stopping to have a life. The closest I've had to one was on Mindoir. When I had the Jacksons as my family and Tali as my friend."

"You care about her?"

"Of course I do. We're best friends."

"More than that."

"I don't know. She- She deserves better. Tali doesn't need to get involved in what my life is."

"Being a Tiven'Vian doesn't mean you have to forgo happiness."

"But I can't ignore her happiness."

Oracle approached Shepard and hugged him. "You really do deserve peace and happiness. I hope you find it."

Shepard's vision went black again. Light pierced his vision as he woke up on the med-bay bed. He sat up to see Chakwas and Ashley standing before him.

"He's awake!" Ashley said.

"You gave us a scare, Commander," Chakwas said. "How're you're feeling?"

"Minor throbbing, nothing too bad," Shepard replied. "How long was I out?"

"About fifteen hours. Something happened down there with the beacon."

"It was my fault, Commander," Ashley interrupted. "I must have triggered some security field."

"You had no idea if that's what set it off," Shepard assured her. "It wasn't your fault."

A smile came across her face.

"We may never find out," Chakwas said.

"The beacon overload and the blast knocked you out," Ashley filled in. "LT and I carried you back here."

"I appreciate it." Shepard's eyes were drawn to Nihlus who was still out. "How's Nihlus?"

"Sadly, Agent Nihlus is in a coma," Chakwas answered. "His injuries were severe. He'll recover physically, but we have no idea when he'll wake up. Now while, you're physically fine, I've detected odd brain readings. Did anything happened while you were out?"

"I saw, I'm not sure, death and destruction. It's really hard to tell."

"Hmm, I should add this to my report- Oh, Captain."

Anderson walked in. "How's our XO doing?"

"He'll be fine," Chakwas answered.

"That's good to hear. I'm going to need to talk to Shepard, in private."

"Aye, aye," Ashley said before walking out with Chakwas. "I'll be in the mess Commander."

"It seems that beacon hit you hard, Commander. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I don't like soldiers dying under my command."

"Jenkins wasn't your fault, Shepard. You did a good job. Kaidan told me about your on ground shield upgrade. I'm guessing Nihlus would be dead without it."

"So you wanted to speak to me?"

"I won't lie to you Commander. Things look bad. Nihlus is in a coma. The becaon's been destroyed and the geth are invading. The Council are going to want answers."

"I did nothing wrong, Captain. I just hope they know that."

"I'll stand behind you and your report, Shepard. You're a damn hero in my books. Though that's not why I'm here. It's Saren. The other turian Spectre. He's one of the best. A legend. But if he's working with the geth that means that he's gone rogue. A rogue Spectre is trouble. Saren's dangerous and he hates humans."

"Why?"

"He thinks that we're expanding too fast. Most aliens think that way, but most don't do anything about that. But Saren has allied himself with the geth. I don't know how or why, but it has something to do with the beacon. You were there just before the beacon self-destructed. Did you see or hear anything that could give us a clue?"

"Before it blew, the beacon gave me a vision."

"A vision? A vision of what?"

"Destruction of everything in the galaxy. Reapers killing everything."

"We need to report this to the galaxy."

"And say what? I had a bad dream?"

"We don't know what type of information was stored in that beacon. Saren took it. He has influence in politics and has forces of geth. He will stop at nothing to see humanity wiped from the galaxy."

"I'll find some way to take him down."

"It's not that easy. Saren's a Spectre and can do almost anything. We need to get the Council to revoke his Spectre status. The ambassador will set up our meeting and will want to meet us right away. We should be getting close to the Citadel now. Go up and tell Joker to bring us into dock."

"Aye, aye, Captain."


	6. Step Forward

Chapter 5: Step Forward

"This is unacceptable!" Udina roared. "The Council would step in if the geth attacked a Turian colony! I demand action!"

"You don't get to make demands of the Council!" the turian snapped at him.

"Humanity knew the risks when they colonized the Traverse."

"What about Saren. You can't ignore a rogue Spectre!"

"C-Sec is finishing their investigation into your accusations. We'll speak more at the meeting."

"I'm see you got the Council to agree to the meeting," Anderson said.

"Yes, but they aren't happy," Udina grumbled. "Saren is one of their best Spectres. They don't like it when one of their Spectres are charged with treason."

Shepard was irritated beyond patience with the ambassador. "Saren is a threat to every human colony in the galaxy! He must be stopped!"

"Calm down, Shepard," Udian chided. "You've already done enough to jeopardize your candidacy for the Spectres. The Eden Prime mission was to prove you could handle things. Instead Nihlus ends up in a coma and the beacon was destroyed."

"That was Saren's fault not his," Anderson defended.

"Well, we better hope that C-Sec turns up some evidence or the Council may use this as an excuse to keep you out of the Spectres." Udina quickly left the room.

"And that's why I hate politicians," Ashley scowled.

"Shepard, you and your squad should hurry to the Citadel," Anderson said. "I'll meet you there."

"Oh, Captain," Shepard said at the last minute.

Anderson turned around. "Yes?"

"How is Nihlus and where is he?"

"He's at a hospital here on the Citadel. The location is secretive, though, I'm afraid. From what I've heard, he has a whole security detail, so I wouldn't worry too much about him. See you at the meeting."

VVVVVV

Tali cursed to herself repeatedly as she ran towards the Ward's med clinic. That data she got off of that geth has been nothing but trouble since she extracted it. The data had a recording of someone by the name of Saren claiming responsibility for the attack on Eden Prime. Since then she was attacked by a small group of assassins. Likely they were working for this Saren person. In the end, she was victorious, but a round grazed her arm. Wasn't a serious injury, but the exposure worried her more. She need a place to heal and quickly repair her suit. She had the parts needed.

The recording made her worry though. This geth attack was part of a bigger plot and there were so many questions. Why have the geth left the Perseus Veil? Who was Saren? Why do the geth follow him? The thought of the geth attacking the Citadel races worried her. 'Keelah,' she thought to herself. 'As if my people don't already have a bad enough reputation.'

This was more than she bargained for and so she needed help. Protection. Tali stumbled into the clinic which, luckily enough, was empty save for clinic doctor. The doctor took one look at Tali and gasped.

"Let me help you," she said as she approached Tali. "Let's get you onto one of my tables."

Tali complied as she was directed to one of the beds. She sat down and allowed the doctor to do her work. The doctor worked quickly as she injected Tali with some anti-biotics and cleaned the wound. It was very minor. It looked more like a cut than a bullet wound.

"Might I ask how you got this wound?"

"I-I rather not say," Tali replied. She didn't want to arouse suspicion by saying it was from a bullet. "I'm sorry, I didn't get you name."

"I'm Doctor Michel. And what is your name?"

"I'm sorry, but I'd rather not say. How much do I owe you?"

Michel let out a friendly chuckle. "My dear this clinic is funded by donations so I can provide free medical care."

"Oh, thank you. Um, would you know by any chance know where I might be able to exchange some information for some protection?"

VVVVVV

Shepard felt slightly pleased with himself as the elevator went up the Citadel tower. As soon as he stepped out of the embassy with Kaidan and Ashley, he encountered Samash who was a husband of one of the soldiers stationed on Eden Prime. He was distressed that he wife's body was detained by the Alliance. Of course Shepard had to help. He spoke to the representative and as it turned out, the Alliance wanted to study her body to find new ways to counter geth weapons.

So he made a fair exchange. The Alliance would release her body, and he gave a copy of the geth data he gathered along with the shield upgrade program. More than a fair exchange. Sadly he knew this feeling would not last long.

Upon exiting the elevator he saw two Turians arguing with each other.

"Just give me some more time," the Turian in the blue armor said. "Stall them!"

"Stall the Council?" the other chided. "Your investigation is over, Garrus."

Shepard's group approached the turian. "Commander Shepard? Garrus Vakarian," he introduced himself. "I was in charge of the investigation into Saren."

"It sound like you didn't have much luck."

"No," he replied. "Saren's a Spectre. Anything he touches becomes classified. I couldn't find anything solid. But I feel it in my gut. He's up to something." Garrus let out a sigh. "Hopefully the Council will listen to you."

"Thanks, Garrus." Shepard nodded to his squad. "Come on."

They approached the stand with Anderson and Udina. The three Council representatives stood behind their podiums. The look of contempt was very clear on the Turian councilor's face. A twenty foot tall hologram of Saren was displayed to the left side of the room.

"The geth attack is a matter for some concern, but there is nothing to suggest that Saren was involved in any way," the Asari declared.

"The investigation by C-Sec turned up no evidence to support your charge of treason," the Turian added.

"Nihlus told Commander Shepard that it was Saren who attacked him," Udina countered.

"And we can only rely on Shepard's word for that evidence," the Turian scoffed.

"I resent these accusations," Saren said. "Nihlus was a fellow Spectre. And a friend."

"That just let you catch him off guard," Anderson argued.

"Captain Anderson? You always seem to be involved when humanity makes false charges against me." Saren looked to Shepard. "And this must be your protégé. Commander Shepard. The one who let the beacon get destroyed."

"Pray tell me how you know about the beacon?" Shepard asked, hoping to catch him off guard. "Eden Prime was a classified mission and if I recall Spectre files and records do not transfer to other Spectres unless they die, as stated in the Council's Defense Protocols Section 4 Paragraph 3. Nihlus is only in a coma. In cases such as that, the records and files go to the Council representatives."

Udina and Anderson looked to Shepard in a sort of awe that the Commander was able to mention that protocol. Despite Spectres given almost unlimited freedom to achieve their goals, there are still some rules and regulations that center around if they go rogue or in times where they are incapacitated. There was a sort of shift in Saren's confidence. Wasn't enough for the others to notice, but Shepard noticed.

"If you know the protocols then you should know that in the same section in paragraph 6, that rule is overridden in times of war. I read the reports. I was not impressed. But what can you expect from humans?"

John looked to the Council. "Saren despises Humanity. That's one of the reasons why he attack the colony."

"Humanity needs to learn its place," Saren scolded. "You're not ready to join the Council. You're not even ready to join the Spectres."

"He has no right to say that!" Udina roared. "That is not his decision."

"Shepard's admission into the Spectres is not the purpose of this meeting," the Asari said to bring order back to the meeting.

"This meeting has no purpose!" Saren scowled. "The Humans are wasting your time Councilor. And mine."

"Saren is hiding behind his status to cover up everything he's done," Shepard argued.

"There is one outstanding," Anderson said. "Shepard's vision may have been triggered by the beacon."

"Are we allowing dreams into evidence?" Saren asked sarcastically. "How can I possibly defend my innocence against this kind of testimony?"

"I agree," the Turian Councilor said. "Our judgment must be based on facts and evidence. Not wild imaginings and reckless speculation."

"Is there anything else you wish to add Shepard?" the Salarian asked.

"No," Shepard answered matter-of-factly.

"The Council have found no evidence of any connection between Saren and the Geth," the Asari announced. "Ambassador, your petition to have Saren disbarred from the Spectres is denied."

"I'm glad to see justice has been served," Saren said cockily.

"Justice will be served, Saren," Shepard said to him. "I promise you that. And I always keep my promises."

Shepard let that threat hang in the air as he left the platform. Saren's hologram cut out. Shepard's squad and Anderson left the platform. Udina still stood there, slowly he followed them.

"It was a mistake bringing you to that hearing, Captain," Udina scolded. "You and Saren had too much history. It made the Council question our motives. And Shepard! What the hell were you thinking? Threatening Saren in front of the Council."

"Just letting Saren know what's coming."

"Well it just only added to irritate the Council. We don't need to worry about them as well as Saren."

"I know Saren," Anderson said. "He's working for the geth for one reason. To exterminate the entire Human race. Every colony we have is at risk. Every world we control is in danger. Even earth isn't safe!"

"I heard about that mission," Shepard said. "You and Saren went on a mission together and there was an accident that got a lot of people killed. It was to prove you could be a Spectre."

"Someday, Shepard, we need to talk about those informants of yours," Anderson said in an irritated voice. "That mission was classified and I don't like the idea of anyone outside the Alliance knowing about it. And I'm not comfortable that you looked into my background."

"That was accidental," Shepard replied. "I was trying to look into Saren myself and I happen upon that mission in particular. I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to look into your personal history. Though right now we need to find evidence of Saren's treachery."

"As a Spectre, Saren is untouchable," Udina commented. "We need to find some way to expose him."

"What about Garrus?" Kaidan suggested. "That C-Sec investigator. We saw him arguing with the Executor."

"That's right!" Ashley said. "He was asking for some more time. It seems like he was close to finding something."

"Anyone know where we could find him?" Shepard asked.

"I have a contact in C-Sec who may be able to help track him down. He's name is Harkin."

"Forget it," Anderson scolded. "Harkin was suspended for drinking on the job. I wouldn't waste my time with him."

"You won't have to," Udina growled. "I won't have the Council use your past with Saren to dismiss anything we come up with. Shepard will handle it."

"You can't just cut the Captain out of this!" Shepard roared.

"No, Shepard, he's right," Anderson complied. "I know you can handle this."

"I have some business to take care of," Udina informed the two soldiers. "Captain, meet me in my office later."

"Harkins probably getting drunk at Chora's Den," Anderson said to Shepard.

"I thought you said he was a waste of time."

"Yes, but he might be able to help. Emphasis on 'might'."

"Maybe there's another way."

"Try Barla Von in the Financial District. Rumor has it he's an agent for the Shadow Broker."

"Shadow Broker?" Ash asked.

"An information dealer. Buys and sells secrets to the highest bidder. I hear Barla Von is one of his top representatives. He might be able to help you, but his information likely won't come cheap."

"I can afford it," Shepard said. "I'll check in with one of my informants on the Citadel and see if he's heard anything."

"Good idea. I'll speak with you later, Shepard. And good luck." Anderson left for the elevator.

"What's this about informants?" Ashley asked.

"Associates of mine," Shepard answered.

"They wouldn't happen to be Shadow Broker agents would they?" Kaidan followed up.

"None of them are affiliated with the Shadow Broker in anyway." Shepard led with two squad mates to a slightly hidden area. "Just to let give you two a heads up. We speak in a coded language so, you're likely not going to understand one thing I say."

"O-okay," Ashley said.

Shepard opened his omni-tool and pressed a couple of buttons. The hologram of a hooded head appeared. Neither Kaidan nor Ashley could make out the person's face.

"Shepard," the man greeted.

"Aether," Shepard said back.

If this is about Tali, I swear we are working our asses off to find her. We have narrowed down locations where she may be on the Citadel.

The words the person spoke caught Kaidan and Ashley completely off guard. It wasn't some silly coded way of speaking, but a damn language.

Thank you for the update, but I was hoping you might know of a C-Sec officer by the name of Garrus Vakarian and his location?

Shepard sounded equally absorbed as he spoke the unknown language

Vakarian?

Yes.

Sorry, no.

What about Saren?

The accused Spectre. We have agents working on it since your charges were made, but as a Spectre it's hard to find anything on him. Spectres love to hide secrets so anything he doesn't want the Council know is kept to him. This means we can't simply hack into the Council's database. We would need access to Saren's databases and networks which are currently unknown to us.

Have Zenna and Toi'li search for anything on Saren or leads to Saren. Rewni, Wel'c and Quitri are to continue their search for Tali'Zorah.

Yes, sir!

The hologram cut out.

"Any luck?" Kaidan asked.

"They haven't come up with anything. Nothing on Garrus' whereabouts or leads on Saren. But they're looking."

"Might I ask why you speak that language, Commander?" Ash asked. "When you said you spoke in code I thought you meant something like, 'Is my laundry done?' or something like that."

"It's for security against anyone who may try to hack our networks. Come on we're wasting time. We should see Barla Von."

VVVVVV

Tali walked over to a bench and sat down sighing loudly. After several weeks it looked like it was all going to be over soon. She was supposed to meet with the Shadow Broker in an hour and from there she can just forget everything.

Maybe now she can speak with John. It has been several weeks since she last spoke with him. 'He's probably worried sick.'

She pulled up a picture of them together on Mindoir.

'Maybe I should have contacted him...' She waved the thought away. 'No. I don't want him involved in my mess. Once this mess is over with I'll contact him. I miss him.'

VVVVVV

Barla Von proved to be reliable. Shepard was given the location of the mercenary that the Shadow Broker hired to deal with Fisk who betrayed him to serve Saren. He was also able to provide the general location of Garrus. Though Barla Von hit a little too close to home when he spoke of the Shadow Broker's interest in Shepard. The Broker found it unusual that Shepard was able to have a whole contact network, yet the Broker has no knowledge how many members are part of that network, or their names.

Shepard and his squad went down in the C-Sec Academy. Wrex immediately stood out among the crowd of people in the area. He was a scarred Krogan who wore crimson-colored armor. Wrex was surrounded by three officers with one speaking to him face-to-face.

"I mean it, Wrex," the man warned. "We find you harassing Fist again and I'll have to arrest you."

"I don't take orders from you," he growled in his deep voice. "You should warn Fist. I will kill him."

"Do you want me to arrest you?"

"I want you to try," he dared. Wrex walked away from the officer towards Shepard's group. He took a good look at Shepard. "Human. Where have I seen you before? Ah. You're Shepard."

"You know me?" Shepard asked in surprise.

"Every Krogan in the galaxy know you. You're the only alien any Krogan respects. The Human that killed a dozen Maws on foot. Killing one Thresher Maw is a difficult feat for a Krogan. Killing a dozen is on a whole other level. What are you doing here?"

"I'm trying to bring down Saren and Barla Von said you might be able to help."

"Barla Von is a wise man. We may share a common goal, Human."

"Fist?"

"Yes. I'm guessing Barla told you of his stupidity."

"Indeed."

"Well a Quarian showed up here on the Citadel."

Shepard's eyes widen. Could it be?

"She was on the run. She wanted to trade information for a safe place to hide. So she went to Fist. He promised to arrange a meeting between her and the Broker. Instead he contacted Saren."

"What was her name?" Shepard demanded while taking a step forward. "What was the Quarian's name?"

"I don't know. What I do know is that her information implicates Saren as part of the Geth attack."

"If we get our hands on that evidence we can prove Saren's guilt!" Kaidan pointed out.

"Where is she now?" Shepard asked

"Last I heard she's still with him," Wrex answered. "Help me kill Fist and I'll help you find the Quarian."

"Deal. The med-clinic is on the way to Chora's Den," Shepard said. "We should go see if Garrus is there."

The back entrance of the Academy led them directly to the med-clinic. It was a short travel. Shepard was more determined now than ever. It would make sense why Tali went off the grid.

Shepard and his group entered through the doorway to see a few thugs speaking with the doctor. Garrus was behind cover and was moving around the corner in a crouched position.

"I swear I didn't say anything to anyone!" she said.

"Good, and if that Turian comes back you'll still say nothing," he threatened. The thug saw Shepard enter through the doorway and grabbed the doctor to use as a hostage.

Shepard pulled out his pistol and aimed at the man. "Let her go!"

Garrus stepped out from his cover and fired a round into the man's head killing him instantly. The doctor took cover while Garrus moved forward. The remaining thugs backed away.

Shepard hopped over the room divider and used his biotics to throw several explosive canisters to end the fight as quickly as possible. Garrus and Wrex looked disappointed that they weren't getting a fight. Shepard approached Garrus who stood next to the doc.

"Perfect timing, Shepard," Garrus complimented. "Gave me a clear shot at that bastard."

"What the hell were you thinking?" Shepard roared. "You could have hit the hostage."

"I-I wasn't thinking, I just acted- Doctor Michel were you hurt?"

"Just a little shaken," she replied.

"Why were those men threatening you?" Shepard asked.

"They were sent by Fist. They wanted me to shut up about a Quarian I patched up."

"Patched up?" Shepard said. "How bad were her wounds?"

"It was a minor suit puncture with a cut. I couldn't really tell where it came from. The suit was repaired and I gave her some extra-strength anti-biotics. She should be okay, maybe a fever, but that's about it. She wanted to trade information for safety. So I sent her to Fist."

"Like I said, Shepard," Wrex reminded.

"I think it's time we pay Fist a visit."

"I know this is your show Shepard, but I want to bring Saren down as much as you do. I'm coming with you."

"I'll take all the help I can get," Shepard welcomed.

The group struggled to keep with his Shepard's pace as he raced through the Wards. They manage to get to the outside of Chora's Den where they were greeted by a couple of Turians.

"Assassins!" Ashley yelled.

Shepard moved his arms to lift the two assassin's into the air and then threw them downwards into the abyss below. "We are not slowing down!"

"At least give us something to fight, Shepard," Wrex remarked.

The doors of club opened up revealing a room filled with assassins. "There's your fight."

The squad split apart and took cover where they could. Garrus used his sniper to pick off guys one by one. Wrex took the left side of the room and used his shotgun to kill anyone moving out of cover. Ashley and Kaidan took the right side. They would alternate with one firing while the other advanced. John climbed up the platform in the middle to get the high ground on anyone in cover.

John aimed with his pistol and fired a couple of rounds at a gas canister next to some mercenaries. The explosions threw them into the wall. The last thug tried to make a run for it but was gunned down by Wrex.

Shepard jumped down and approached the back door. The doors opened with two workers standing there petrified in fear.

"Don't come any closer," one of them warned.

"Warehouse workers," Ashley commented. "The real thugs must be gone."

"This might be a good time to find a new job," Shepard suggested.

"Y-Yeah," the other worker said.

"I never liked Fist anyways." The two walked out of the room.

"Would have been quicker to just kill them," Wrex said.

"Violence isn't always the answer," Garrus replied.

They went through the final door to Fist's office. A couple of turrets were activated as soon as they entered the room. Shepard pulled up his omni-tool and activated an overload. The two turrets were disabled leaving just Fist who made a last ditch effort to stop them. Shepard approached him with his squad behind them. Fist fired several rounds at Shepard which were stopped by his barrier.

Shepard lifted a chair with his biotics and threw it at Fist. The impact knocked Fist to the ground and to lose grip on his weapon. John walked up to Fist and aimed his pistol at his head. "Where's the Quarian?"

"I-I don't know!" he answered in a distressed. "That's the truth"

"He's useless to us," Wrex grumbled. "Let me kill him."

"Wait!" Fist pleaded while standing up. "I don't know where she is, but I know she will be. I set up a meeting for her. Told her she would meet the Shadow Broker."

"Face-to-face?" Wrex said. "Impossible. Even I was hired through an agent."

"No one ever meets the Shadow Broker. Even I don't know his true identity. But she didn't know that. When she shows up for the meeting, it'll be Saren's men who will be waiting for her there."

The anger Shepard felt beforehand doubled. He grabbed Fist by the collar pulled him closely while aiming his pistol at his head. "Tell me the time and place of the meeting and I won't shoot."

"The back alley of the Wards near here. She's supposed to meet them right now. You can make it if you hurry."

Wrex pulled out his shotgun.

"Wait! You said-"

"I said I wouldn't shoot you," Shepard quipped. "I never said anything about Wrex here."

"You bas-" Fist couldn't get his line before Wrex blew his head off.

"Come on, we need to find her!"

VVVVVV

Tali entered the alleyway. It was lit by a red light. Just over to the side she could see a keeper hard at work on its console. The door at the other side of the alley opened. A Turian followed by two Salarians walked through and approached her.

"Where's Fist?" she demanded. "Where's the Shadow Broker?"

"They'll be here," the Turian said as he stroked her arm.

Tali felt disgusted. She swatted the hand away and said, "No, deal's off."

The Turian took a step back and nodded to his two henchmen. Tali didn't think twice as she threw a grenade in the middle of them. The grenade was a simple concussion model, but it was enough to buy her time while she pulled out her shotgun. She popped out of cover to take aim at the disorientated Turian.

Before she could pull the trigger, a barrage of rounds went through the Salarian thugs. A large object flew by her and hit the Turian causing him to fly back five feet. She saw that the object was a large sword. It was impaled through the center of the Turian's chest. The sword looked familiar.

"Tali?" a familiar voice said.

Tali looked to the source of the voice and gasped. "John?"

John smiled, relieved that his search for his best friend was over. Tali ran to him and hugged him.

"I'm so glad you're okay."

"Thank you for coming Shepard and... saving me."

"You could have called me. I would have come running."

"Really-"

Garrus loudly cleared his throat. John only realized how long he was holding her. "Oh, uh, sorry, I forgot to introduce everyone. Tali this is Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, Officer Garrus Vakarian, and Urdnot Wrex. Everyone, this is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. We've been best friends since we were kids."

"Friends?" Garrus muttered under his breath.

"Not that I mind you here, but why are you here?" Tali asked.

"Well I heard that you had evidence to implicate Saren in the Eden Prime attack."

"Then I have a way to really thank you, but it is best I show you somewhere safe."

"We should take her to the Human embassy," Ash suggested.

VVVVVV

Shepard and his group entered the Human embassy. Udina was facing away. He shook his head disapprovingly. "You're not making my life easy, Shepard. Firefights in the Wards? An all out assault on Chora's Den? Also add in the fact you like to use swords which makes things even worse! Have you thought about joining the 23rd century? Do you know how many-" Udina looked to Tali. "Who's this? A Quarian? What are you up to Shepard?"

"Tali'Zorah here has evidence to implicate Saren in the Eden Prime attack," Shepard answered.

"Really? Maybe we should start at the beginning. Why did you leave the Flotilla?"

"My Pilgrimage. It's my people's rite of passage into adulthood."

"What happened?" Shepard asked. "Last I heard from you, you were just starting your Pilgrimage."

"Well, you sent me that message that the Geth were leaving the Perseus Veil. I was curious as to why. I tracked a patrol of Geth to an uncharted world. I waited until one left the group. I attacked, disabled it and then I took its memory core."

"I thought that the Geth fried their memory cores when they died," Anderson pointed out. "Some kind of defense mechanism."

"That's true," Shepard said. "But if you're fast enough and with some luck you can get some useful data. It's how I was able to create that makeshift shield upgrade."

"I remember that," Kaidan added. "I didn't really know what you were doing there, but those upgrades really did help."

"Like what John said. Most of the core was friend but I was able to extract some audio files." Tali pulled up her omni-tool and play the file.

"Eden Prime was a major victory," Saren's distorted voice said. "The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit."

"That's Saren's voice!" Anderson exclaimed. "This proves he was involved in the attack."

"The Conduit?" Shepard thought out loud. "The hell is that?"

"I'm not sure, but there's more to the file," Tali answered.

"Eden Prime was a major victory. The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit."

"And one step closer to bringing back the Reapers."

"I don't recognize that voice," Udina said. "The one speaking of the Reapers."

"This is worse than I thought," Shepard said. "They want to bring them back."

"The Reapers?" Anderson asked.

"I already mentioned it to you before when I was describing my vision."

'What vision?' Tali thought.

"I thought you were talking about a metaphor for death. I didn't think you meant some actual entity."

"The Reapers are a race of sentient machines. They've repeated a cycle of extinction for god knows how long. Their latest endeavor was wiping out the Protheans. They then vanish until the next cycle."

"That sounds a little far-fetched," Udina said dismissively.

"The Geth memory core said the exact same thing!" Tali said in a surprised voice. "The Geth worship these advance machines. They see them as the pinnacle of non-organic life."

"The Council is going to love this," Udina grumbled.

"The Reapers are a threat to every living thing in this galaxy!" Shepard argued. 'And mine,' he thought. "The Council needs to know."

"Regardless of what the Council thinks, thees audio files prove that Saren is a traitor," Anderson concluded.

"The Captain's right," Udina said. "We need to present this to the Council right away."

"What about her?" Wrex asked while nodding to Tali. "The Quarian."

"My name is Tali!" she scolded. This was a chance to go on an adventure with John and repay him. Even spend more time with him. "You saw how I handle myself in the alley. Let me come with you."

John's eyes widen. "But what about your Pilgrimage?"

"Joh- Shepard, you know better than anyone outside the Flotilla that it is a way to show how we are able to give of ourselves for the greater good. What would it say about me if I turned my back on this?"

A smile grin came across his face. "I'd be a fool not to accept your help."

"Thank you, Commander," Tali said. "You won't regret this." There was joy in her heart. Back with her friend, and her secret crush.

John turned to Garrus and Wrex. "What about you two?"

"I'm not missing the opportunity to take that treacherous bastard down," Garrus replied.

"I always know when a good fight is coming," Wrex answered. "And I always do appreciate a good fight."

"Anderson and I will get things set up with the Council," Udina said. "Meet us at the tower."

VVVVVV

"Hurry, we are about to present the evidence," Anderson said quickly.

Shepard and his group stepped onto the platform. The audio file played for all to hear. Udina had a smug look on his face.

"You wanted evidence? There it is!"

"This evidence is irrefutable," the Turian replied. "Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status and all efforts will be made to bring him in."

"I recognize that other voice," the Asari said. "It's Matriarch Benezia."

"Who's that?" Shepard asked.

"A powerful biotic with many followers. She would make a formidable ally for Saren."

"I'm more interested in the Reapers," the Salarian said. "What do you know about them?"

"Only what the Geth memory core and Shepard's vision said," Anderson answered. "They were an ancient race of machines that wiped out the Protheans and then they vanished."

"The Geth worship them as gods and the Conduit is the way to bring them back," Shepard added.

"Do we know what the Conduit is?" the Salarian followed up.

"Just that it can bring back the Protheans," Shepard replied.

"Listen to what you're saying!" the Turian scoffed. "An ancient race of machines that wiped out all life. Impossible. Has to be. Where did the Reapers go? Why did they vanish? How come we've found no evidence of them? If they were real, we would have found something?"

"I tried to warn you about Saren and you refused to see the truth," Shepard pointed out. "Don't make the same mistake."

"This is different," the Asari defended. "You presented us with evidence to prove Saren's guilt. We all agree that he and the Geth are looking for the Conduit, but we really don't know why."

"The Reapers are obviously a myth, Commander," the Salarian agreed. "A convenient lie to cover Saren's true purpose. A legend he used to bend the Geth to his will."

"So you're saying that Saren is able to fool a race of sentient machines whose full processing power far exceeds that of any supercomputer or AI in existence using bedtime stories?"

Tali couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at Shepard pointing at the Council's idiocy.

"Watch your mouth, Commander," the Turian scolded. "Don't let this victory go to your head."

"I'm just pointing out a logical fallacy. Councilor."

"And your explanation is a race of sentient machines that no one has ever heard of."

"Please," the Asari pleaded to bring order back. "This is getting us nowhere."

"I agree," the Turian said. "As of now Saren is a rogue agent on the run. He doesn't have the resources of the Spectres."

"That is not good enough!" Udina yelled. "You know he's hiding somewhere in the Traverse. Send your fleet in!"

"A fleet cannot track down one man, Ambassador," the Salarian chided.

"The Citadel fleet could secure the region. To keep the Geth from attacking anymore of our colonies."

"Or it could trigger a war with the Terminus system," the Turian scolded. "We will not be dragged into a galactic confrontation over a few dozen Human colonies."

"Send me after him," Shepard interrupted.

"No it's too soon!" the Turian roared.

"The Council doesn't have to send a fleet and the Ambassador gets his Spectre. Everyone's happy."

The Assari and Salarian looked to the Turian. They both knew it was the best option. The Turian sighed in annoyance. The three tapped into their consoles.

"Commander Shepard, please step forward," the Asari said.

Shepard looked to Anderson who smiled and nodded. John took a few steps forward. The area gained a crowd. People from various races leaned over the balcony above them to watch the historic event take place. Shepard took notice of the crowd.

"It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel."

"Spectres are not trained, but chosen," the Salarian continued. "Individuals forged in the fires of service and battle. Those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file."

"Spectres are an ideal. A symbol. The embodiment of courage, determination, and self reliance. They are the right hand of the Council. Instruments of our will."

"Spectres bear a great burden," the Turian continued in the third section of the creed. "They are protectors of galactic peace. Both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."

"You are the first Human Spectre, Commander," the Asari reminded. "This is a great accomplishment for you and your specie."

"I'm honored, Councilor."

"We are sending you into the Traverse after Saren," the Salarian informed. "You are authorized to use any means necessary to apprehend or eliminate him."

"Any leads as to where I can find him?" Shepard asked.

"We will forward any relevant files to Ambassador Udina," the Turian answered.

"This meeting of the Council is adjourned," the Asari concluded.

Shepard turned to the group to see most of them smiling. Anderson approached him and reached out a hand. John grabbed it and shook.

"Congratulations, Commander."

"We have a lot of work to do Shepard," Udina said. "You're going to need a ship, crew, supplies..."

"You'll get access to special gear and training. You should head down to C-Sec academy and speak with the Spectre Requisition officer."

"Anderson! Come with me! I'll need your help to set all this up."

The Ambassador and Captain both left in a hurry.

"You'd think the Ambassador would be more thankful," Ashley commented.

"Until I've caught Saren, I haven't done anything yet," Shepard replied.

"I can't believe you're a Spectre now," Tali said. "I didn't think you were being considered, but knowing your history it's not a surprise that you'd be picked. It really was an honor to witness this."

"Thank you, Tali. I just hope I can live up to everyone's expectations."

A small chuckle came from Wrex. "Considering you were able to take down a pack of Maws on foot... I feel sorry for Saren. Almost."

Shepard's omni-tool beeped. He looked at it and noticed the message. His eyes widen. "Something's come up. Kaidan, could you take everyone to the Academy? I'll catch. I shouldn't be any longer than an hour."

"Aye, aye, Commander."

VVVVVV

John walked over a walkway that stretched over a Presidium lake. At its center was a secluded area with some benches and trees. He sat down at one of the benches under a tree. Shepard wait for a few minutes before a man in a black cloak sat down next to him. The man's face had a couple of diagonal scars on his right cheek. His skin was a dark creamy color.

It is good to see you again, Aether.

Likewise, brother. I apologize for our failure to either find Tali or leads on Saren before you did.

It's alright, Tali's okay and Saren's been proven a traitor.

I believe congratulations are in order. First 'Human' Spectre. Quite an accomplishment.

It'll further our goals. To end Cerberus and to stop the Reapers.

Indeed. I recently received reports that we have received more operatives. That puts our number easily over a thousand.

Good. How have our information network faired?

We've had some... difficulty with Broker agents, but all our agents have been able to evade them. He still doesn't know. Though we still don't know anything about him. I fear he may become a threat to us in the near future if things progress the way they are.

I saw the Reapers and what they were capable of.

Aether glanced at Shepard.

That beacon on Eden Prime implanted a vision in my mind. It showed me the destruction of the Prothean Empire at the hands of the Reapers. It... It was terrible. We have to be ready for them.

Did the beacon give you any useful information?

No. It was too distorted and chaotic. But the Oracle contacted me again. The Reapers are the cataclysm. Cerberus is a threat, but these Reapers need the majority of our attention. What's worse is that they are the ones who attacked 50000 years ago. It's part of their cycle of extinction. The wormhole was opened at that time and they found us. What's worse is that they stole some of our technology. They may be even stronger than ever before.

With you leading us, brother, we can defeat them.

With the support of two galaxies, there's nothing that can stop us in the future.

The two stood up and gave each other a hug.

Show this galaxy what a Tiven'Vian can do.

The darkness of his hood caused the green glow of his synthetic eyes to become more noticeable. Aether was a 5th generation Exion. The 5th generation was the latest model of the Exions. Their synthetic bodies closely imitated a biological structure.

First generation Exions either inhabitated a classic synthetic body or were in computer networks. Each generation became more advance in their physical body. Though 1st generations are still considered the most powerful in processing power.

Despite their advancement, they still could die of old age. Not in the classic sense. Exions eventually go through what could be described as AI Alzheimer. Their data becomes corrupt over time which eventually destroys them. To this day only a handful of 1st generation Exions still live. Most of them were in control on some of the Dreadnaughts being constructed. Only one was in the Council's galaxy and she was investigating Cerberus.

The majority of the Exion infiltrators in the galaxy were from either the 4th or 5th generation. They were able to hack anything they could find. They were experts at hiding or finding secrets. They were also able to evade any scanning device the Citadel races could come up with by hacking them at range. For all intents and purposes they were invisible.

Do you have orders for our operatives, Commander?

Devote resources towards finding any leads on the Reapers, Geth, Saren and Cerberus. Sixty percent to the Reapers, ten percent on the Geth, ten percent on Saren, and twenty percent on Cerberus.

I'll voice the orders to the Guardian network. Until then I bid you well.

Aether activated his invisibility and disappeared.


	7. Species BioSheet Reference

Parallel Realities Species Bio-Sheet

Race:

Artician (Ar-TEE-shee-on)

Average Height:

5'8"-6'4"

Max Life Span (many variables apply):

150-2000 years

Population:

1

Government:

Constitutional Monarchy

Appearance:

A bipedal race that look exactly the same as humans.

Biology/Culture:

Mammals. Adaptive-DNA.

While looking exactly like humans, Artician are very different down to their genetics and capabilities. Artician DNA is in constant flux. It is neither levo-rotational nor dextro-rotational. Their genetics is due to the harsh environment of their homeworld. They were required to evolve at a much more rapid rate than that of any other species. This required genetics that had to rapidly adapt to any new environment.

Though once Articians evolved to the point where they mastered their homeworld, their Adaptive-DNA still remained. Their race soon discovered that their DNA could imitate other races once they made first contact with the Rasitians. It's very painful, but their DNA can change without distorting their appearance. The feeling of changing their DNA is akin to having every cell in the body set in fire as their body rapidly adapts. With this ability Articians found that they are able to [SECTION CLASSIFIED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE].

Along with their Adaptive-DNA Articians had to evolve advance abilities to live on their harsh planet. Articians evolved nodes in their nervous systems that allows them to manipulate Dark Energy and [CLASSIFIED]. Their intelligence also rapidly evolved along with their strength. Children had to mentally mature so they were able to take on advance tasks at an early age as to ensure the survival of their clans in the early stages of their civilizations.

Galactic Government was created by the Artician, Rasitian, Tia'zus and Rak'en races. This form of government has existed for fifty thousand years. The legacy of the Artician race sadly ended over twenty years ago when a Human extremist group called Cerberus unleashed a techno-plague upon their galaxy. Only one Artician lives. A Tiven'Vian, which are [CLASSIFIED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE].

Articians follow a code of honor that they will uphold to their deaths. This in turn makes them very fortified in their will when it comes to morality and ethics. While Articians usually remain calm, cool and collective, they can become violent to the point where they need to be executed if [CLASSIFIED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE]. It's at this point they are considered dead and that putting them down is an act of mercy.

Race:

Rasitian (Ra-sii-SHEE-on)

Average Height:

5'8"-6'4"

Max Life Span:

500 years

Population:

2,000,000,000

Government:

Social Democracy

Appearance:

A bipedal race with varying skin tones from pink to purple. Four-fingered hands and four toed feet. Body type for males and females are very similar to Human or Artician. Four eyes. A curtain membrane comes out from the back of their head. Females' membranes usually are shoulder length. Males are around several inches. The original purpose of this membrane was display for mating rituals. In current civilization, membranes are used for individuality and decoration. Meaning its purpose has not exactly changed over time.

Biology/Culture:

Amphibious.

Rasitian's homeworld is 90 percent water. They evolved to be able to live in an aquatic and terra environment. Cities on their homeworld are large population centers that float on water surfaces or, if their city is large enough, is held up by large supports that going down to the bottom of their oceans. Their diet is most fish based so vegetation is not a concern. Resources, such as metals and fuel are easily accessible through the ocean floor.

Rasitians were the second civilization to become a space-faring race. They are among the first members of the Galactic Order.

Race:

Praetorin (PRAY-tor-in)

Average Height:

6'7"-7'5"

Max Life Span:

600 years

Population:

2,000,000,000

Government:

Participatory Democracy

Appearance:

A bipedal race of reptilians. They still retain their tail, but it is a very slender, whip-like appendage. Their claws are roughly three inches long on their hands and toes. Four fingers and toes. They have a short snort with a mixture of razor-sharp teeth and molars. Their scales have shrunk in size making them look less armored than any other lizard, but their scales are many times more durable. Their snout is short and lake a protruding noise. Instead they have two slits for nostrils. Their eyes are very large, about the size of a balled fist.

Biology/Culture:

Reptilian.

Their homeworld is a jungle planet. Temperatures in the 90s and humid at high levels. Pratorins ancestors lived in trees and travel through their tops to avoid their many predators. They evolved to be slender and very agile. Their muscles are tightly bundled (similar to Articians) which gives them more strength than it looks like they are capable of. This makes their bodies very hard to the touch. They still retain their reptilian regenerative abilities. They can lose an arm, leg or a tail and regrow it. This ability does not apply to their heads or fatal injuries.

Race:

Rak'en (Rak-in)

Average Height:

5'-5'6"

Max Life Span:

300 years

Population:

2,500,000,000

Government:

Communistic Democracy

Appearance:

A Quadrapedal race of insectoids. Rak'ens move on four slender legs and have two arms. This brings the number of appendages to six. They have wings which allow them to fly long distances. Their body is similar to a beetle held in a vertical position. They technically means they walk upright. They have eyes like a fly which gives them a wide viewing range. Their mouths are a mixture of plated lips and two mandibles that cover those lips.

Biology/Culture:

Insect.

Rak'en ancestors lived in large underground burrows. Rak'ens still do to a point. They have large underground cities. Each colony city can be up to thirty five square miles in size. Rak'en are a close community race and see each other as family. They retain a system of government where resources are shared equally among the population.

Race:

Tia'zu (TEE-a-zuh)

Average Height:

6'10"-7'8"

Max Life Span:

400 years

Population:

2,000,000,000

Government:

Republic

Appearance:

A bipedal race of armored reptilian/avian beings. Their body is covered by plates of thick bone. They have three fingers and toes. Each are clawed. Their eyes are sunken and can be easily overseen due to the plates that surround the eye hole. The most flexible part of their body is their mouth which is still soft tissue and skin. They are exclusively carnivorous.

Biology/Culture:

Reptilian/Avian.

Tia'Zus were cliff dwellers in their ancestry. Most of their current cities are based around cliffs. Tia'Zus were once hunter-gatherer tribes but have gone into farming of their foods. They were uplifted by the Articians, but not by too far ahead. Tia'Zus were already capable of orbital travel by the time of their first contact. Tia'Zus, despite their nightmarish appearance, are polite and reserved race of people.

Race:

Exion (Ex-ee-on)

Average Height:

5'8"-6'4"

Max Life Span:

400-2000 years

Population:

2,000,000,000

Government:

Direct Democracy

Appearance:

A bipedal race of synthetic beings. Each generation looks different than that of the previous generation. 1st generation Exion bodies were metallic androids. The newest generation of Exion (5th) look like an Artician or Human save for their slightly glowing retinas. Each Exion will have a different color of retina. As a law, no Exion will look like any living Artician.

Biology/Culture:

Electronic/Synthetic/AI

Exions were created by accident by the Articians in an experiment into creating advance automotive services. Their programming evolved on its own and created what became known as the 1st generation of Exions. The Galactic Order followed their guidelines of what is considered sentient life and gave the Exions their freedom and status as a sentient race. The Exions became a heavily involved race in the galactic stage allowing each civilization develop at a faster rate.

The creation of AIs was bestowed upon the Exions as their means of reproduction. Each generation was more developed than the last. They tried to imitate organic life more and more. Eventually they developed emotions by their 3rd generation. By the 5th they acted like any other race. While each generation is not as powerful as the 1st, they considered their emotions and developed consciousness as a good trade off.

The extinction of the Artician race was considered the saddest day in their existence as they lost who they considered to be their parent race.


	8. T'Soni

Chapter 6: T'Soni

The elevator opened up for Shepard where he saw his group of soldiers of varying backgrounds.

"Bout time you got here," Garrus sighed jokingly. "Where were you?"

"Speaking with an informant," Shepard replied. "I also put an order in before coming here. We'll have Spectre grade gear and Savant omni-tools shipped to the Normandy before we set off."

"Wait a minute, Skipper," Ashley interjected. "Isn't Spectre gear up in the hundreds of thousands of credits for each weapon?"

Shepard nodded.

"Where the hell did you get that kind of money?" Ashley exclaimed only to correct herself, "Uh, Commander."

"Selling patents. Anderson and Udina wanted to meet up at the docks."

The elevator was slightly crowded with very little personal space. For the few minutes there, it felt a little like home on the Rayya to Tali with so many people in close proximity to each other. The elevator doors opened to Anderson and Udina conversing with each other.

"Ah, Commander," Udina said. "I was just speaking with Anderson here and he's agreed to step down as the Captain of the Normandy. The ship is yours now."

"You know the crew," Anderson added. "You practically built this ship yourself. It only seems right that you're captaining it."

"But you were this ship's captain first," Shepard argued.

"You need your own ship Shepard. And like I said. It's only proper that it's the ship's creator takes the captain position."

"I'll take good care of her." Shepard looked to Udina. "So what leads do we have?"

"The Council gave us several leads. There have been reports of Geth on Noveria and Feros."

"Also that Matriarch who is working for Saren," Anderson reminded. "She has a daughter by the name of Dr. Liara T'Soni. She's a scientists who specializes in the Protheans. She's somewhere in the Artemis Tau Cluster."

"It sounds like a good idea to find her first," Shepard commented.

"The choice is yours from here, Shepard; you don't answer to us anymore."

"But remember that your actions reflect Humanity as a whole," Udina warned. "You make a mess and I get stuck cleaning it up."

"I'll try not to make things harder for you."

"That's good to hear."

"Good luck in your mission, Commander."

VVVVVV

Alenko and Ashley were at their posts when Shepard made his speech to the crew. Wrex, Garrus and Tali waited in the CIC until Shepard was finished in the cockpit. Wrex had a neutral look on his face like he was in no rush. Garrus seemed anxious to start working on something to keep him occupied until they found Liara. Tali seemed more along the lines of nervous.

Tali never expected to ever board a ship this advance. It was clean and sleek. The technology was far more advance than many of the ships of the Flotilla. Hopefully she would have a chance to work in engineering, unless Shepard is forbidden from allowing the non-humans on the ship from getting near Alliance technology. She saw Shepard approached them. Tali stood up straighter.

"I can take you three where you can be stationed for the time being," he said. Shepard waved in the direction of the stairs.

The three followed closely behind as Shepard guided them down the stairs and into the elevator. Tali could see Alenko working on a console before they went into the elevator. She also noticed the many glances the crew gave them.

The elevator doors opened to the cargo bay. Ashley was on the other side of the area looking over the Spectre weapons they had. Garrus spotted the tank that was locked into place. "Uh, Commander, mind if I have a look at your tank there?"

"Go right ahead. I'll have everyone's sleeping pods set up along with a schedule."

"I can just sleep over there," Wrex pointed to the area next to the lockers.

"You sure, Wrex?"

"I saw the sleeper pods on the way to the elevator. I would not fit in one."

"Well, if you need anything else-"

"I have a mission, a place to rest and high-tech weapons. Nothing else I do need."

Wrex and Garrus left Shepard and Tali, to go to their respective posts. Shepard looked to Tali who still seemed nervous. "Now Tali... Where would you like to be stationed?"

"You're asking me?" Tali asked in surprise.

"I thought you would like to be stationed where you would be most comfortable."

"Well, if you don't mind, I would like to be stationed in engineering. If that's alright with you."

"Of course it's alright. I thought you would like to be stationed there, but I didn't want to make assumptions."

"Thank you, Commander."

"Tali we've know each other for fifteen years; John is okay."

"But you're the captain of this ship and that demands a lot of respect especially among Quarians. You know this."

"Compromise? You call me Commander or Shepard while we're on duty, but John off-duty. Captain's orders."

Tali let out a laugh. "Alright, Shepard."

Shepard led Tali to Engineering. When the doors opened, Tali's eyes widen. "Oh, Keelah." The ship's drive core was enormous.

"She's something, isn't she?"

"This ship is amazing, Shepard! I can understand why you Humans are so successful. I had no idea that Alliance vessels were so advance."

"Well, the Normandy is a prototype, top-of-the-line."

"And her creator is right here," Adams interjected. "The Commander here practically built her single-handily."

"Tali this is Chief Engineer Adams. Adams this is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. She will be stationed down here."

"Will be looking forward to working with you Miss Zorah."

"Thank you for the welcome, but you said Shepard designed this ship?"

"Not entirely," Shepard said humbly.

"He's just being modest," Adams assured. "Tell her about your first proposal to the Alliance about your ship."

"First proposal?" Tali repeated exquisitely.

Shepard let out a small laugh. "I had a different ship design. The original design was at least twice the size of this ship. Would have been classified as a super-frigate. Better armor, weapons and maneuverability."

"What happened?"

"The Alliance saw the price tag," Adams answered. "The design would have cost half a trillion credits."

Tali's jaw nearly dropped from hearing that figure. That was enough to buy a couple dozen used ships for the Migrant Fleet, or half a dozen good ships.

"The Alliance wasn't happy with me on that," Shepard chuckled. "They told me to design a ship at a third that budget. I came back with this ship. This ship was then built by Turian and Human engineers."

"Fascinating," Tali muttered. "I would have liked to have seen what that larger ship would have been like."

"As would I. Well, I have to attend to some duties and such. And be ready once we find the Prothean dig site. I'm bringing everyone down, including you."

"Yes, sir," Tali replied.

Shepard raised a brow as to plead, "Come on..."

"I mean, yes, Shepard."

"Better. Now, if you have anything to bring to my attention or if you just want to talk Tali, you can find me on the second deck in my quarters. My doors are always opened. I'll see you later." Shepard smiled and turned around to walk out of engineering.

"Uh, Shepard," Tali called out to stop him.

He turned back to her.

"Thank you again for letting me join your crew and everything."

"Tali, all of this is possible thanks to you, this is the very least I can do to repay you. Thank you." Shepard exited the room leaving Tali to her new responsibilities on the ship.

Tali had a big smile on as she approached the console of the drive core.

VVVVVV

A young boy sat on a metal chair in a sterile white room. He was strapped there by his arms and legs. A taser device was placed on his head. His eyes weakly opened as he heard the door open. Two Cerberus scientists walked into the room. The one scientist had his head completely shaved. A scar ran diagonally across his face from the top of his right brow to the bottom left of his lips. The other scientist was frailer than the scarred one. He had bright red hair and was pushing a cart. The room lit up as they entered.

"Where's Mother?" the child pleaded. "Where's Father? Where's I'ana?"

"They're alive," the scarred one sneered. "Continue to cooperate with us and they'll stay like that."

The red head pulled out a large syringe and stabbed it into the boy's arm. The boy groaned in pain. He fought to not give the two monsters the pleasure of his screams. The syringe filled with his blood.

"I got the sample," the red head declared.

"Good. The Illusive Man will be pleased. Now give me the other syringes. The experiments must continue."

The boy's eyes were drawn to the tray of the numerous needles. "No..." he gasped. "No. Please no more."

"You don't get a choice in the matter," the scarred one said. "You don't cooperate with us, we kill your family." The scientist aimed the syringe. "Now. Hold. Still!" He stabbed the boy in the chest.

This time the boy could not suppress his screams. His body felt like it was on fire. The pain only intensified as the syringe's contents entered his body. The scar one didn't wait for the boy to adjust. He took another syringe and stabbed the six inch long needle into his chest. The pain that followed far surpassed the last injection.

The scarred man's eyes started to glow a bright yellow. He learned forward with a sadistic smile. His eyes were blinding.

"You will know pain, Shepard."

John sat up in his bed screaming. He was hyperventilating and was covered in sweat. His breathing eventually calmed a bit. John brought his hands to his face and rubbed. Even after all these years he still had those nightmares.

Though, this time the nightmare was different. Must have been that damn beacon. Just how messed up is my mind going to become?

These thoughts ran through Shepard's mind.

"You awake, Commander?" Joker asked over the ship's comm. system.

Shepard let out a quiet sigh. "Yeah, I'm awake. What is it?"

"Just letting you know that we have reached our destination."

"Alright, notify Wrex, Garrus, Tali, Williams, and Alenko that we're going groundside."

"Aye, aye."

VVVVVV

Luck was on Shepard's side when he picked which system to explore first. The Knossos system had a planet called Therum which had a large Prothean ruin. Shepard and his crew took the Mako planet-side to investigate. With all of the active volcanoes and lava flow, the temperature of the surface was staggering. Geth put up resistance against his group, but with the Mako, they proved little more than a minor inconvenience.

Eventually they reached a bottleneck that forced the squad to move forward on foot. Going through they ran into a small patrol of Geth who were easily dispatched by Garrus and Ashley with their sniper rifles.

They pushed forward. Shepard noticed a couple of laser sights. "Snipers!"

The squad took cover behind the rocks. Half a dozen Geth moved to them in the area down below.

"Ash, Garrus take out those snipers!" Shepard ordered. Everyone else; suppressing fire!

The Geth below took cover. Ash and Garrus popped up from their cover and targeted the two snipers. Each shot from their rifles blew the Geth heads to pieces.

"Move forward!"

Shepard and his group moved into the area and fired as they advanced. The Geth tried fighting back, but were overwhelmed by the massive amount of rounds flying at them. Wrex used lift to bring the Geth out of cover. Shepard sent a throw attack at the immobile Geth sending them dozens of feet into the air. The Geth reached about a hundred feet before the dark energy field around them dissipated. They came crashing to the ground.

Watching then Geth die like that elicited a laugh from Tali. "Now that's a way to destroy Geth," she commented.

"Area clear," Garrus announced.

"According to the layout of the area, the entrance to the ruins should be just up the hill," Kaidan said.

Shepard nodded towards the top of the hill to notify his team to move forth. There was an abandoned station in front of the ruin. The squad scanned the area for any movement.

Thud! A Geth hopper flung to the ground and then jumped out of sight. A Geth dropship flew overhead launching half a dozen Geth troopers into the ground along with a Geth Armature.

"Take cover!" Shepard yelled.

Wrex and Kaidan used lifted to stop the hoppers from moving. Ash and Tali took the opportunity to blow them out of the sky. Shepard returned fire with his pistol.

The Armature fired a blast at their location. Their cover protected them, but the blast caused them to lose their hearing briefly.

"Everyone keep that Armature's attention. I'm going to flank it."

His squad nodded. Garrus, Kaidan and Tali used overload to lower the giant's shield. Ashley and Wrex focused their fire at the base of the neck. John moved behind the walls to the left and moved to the left flank of the Armature. He pulled out Nemain.

"Hold your fire!" he ordered.

The gunfire immediately stopped. John ran out from behind the wall with his blade extended. He sliced through the back-right leg of the Armature causing it to tilt. John cut the front-left leg making the Geth creation to flop onto its stomach. It tried to turn around to find its attacker, but with just two working that were diagonally opposite of each other, it wasn't able to move. John walked onto its back and held his sword to the side.

In a swift motion, he decapitated the Armature. Its head landed on the ground with a loud thud. White synthetic fluids spurted out of the wound. The fluids covered the blade. John whipped the sword causing the white fluid to slide off of the blade. The blade retracted back into the staff.

"That was amazing!" Tali gasped.

"Yeah, I agreed with Tali here," Ash agreed. "Incredible swordsmanship. Skipper, where did you learn to fight like that?"

Shepard holstered his blade and replied, "When I was young." Before Ash could make a follow up question Shepard said, "Come on. T'Soni is inside these mines."

The Prothean ruin was encased in hardened magma from thousands of years ago when the volcano last erupted. Shepard's group encountered more Geth soldiers. It was at the bottom of the second elevator where Shepard's group found the Asari scientist. She was encased in a blue sphere of energy.

"Oh thank the goddess!" she exclaimed. "Someone who isn't Geth. Are-Are you here to get me out of here?"

Shepard walked up to the blue barrier. "Yes," he replied. "Thing is though, your mother is working for a rogue Spectre. Saren Arterius. What is your role in this situation?"

"I- What?" she muttered. It was evident that she has been inside the energy sphere for a while. Liara had very little energy left. "I haven't spoken to my mother in years."

'Years?' Tali thought. She could never imagine any child not speaking to their parent for years.

"I have nothing to do with that Turian bastard!"

Shepard could see it in her eyes that she was telling the truth. "Is there a way past this energy field?"

"I don't know. The Geth have been trying to get through for a while now. I'm not sure there is a way."

"We'll figure something out."

"I'll be right here," she jests.

Shepard's eye caught a large device lying on the ground. "An energy drill!"

The trademark stuttering sound of the Geth could be heard echoing in the cavern.

"Everyone cover me while I activate the drill!" Shepard ordered.

Shepard immediately went to work at getting the drill working. Geth continued to pour into the mine. His squad provided cover.

'Just a few more... There!' The laser roared to life and blasted a hole under the barrier curtain. "Path is clear! Move it!"

The squad fell back into the hole as the Geth advance, firing on their position. The hole led to the internal elevator.

Kaidan set up some explosives around the hole to kill any Geth that tried to get through.

Shepard activated the elevator sending the group up one level. They were behind Liara. She glanced back. "How did you get up here?"

"We used the mining laser to create an alternate route," Shepard answered.

"Yes, of course. Please use the console to free me."

Shepard approached the console and typed in a few commands. The energy field dissipated letting Liara to drop to the ground. John walked over to her and helped her to her feet. "Are you okay?"

Liara stared at him briefly. "I just realized you're speaking my language."

Shepard raised a brow at the comment.

"S-Sorry. It's just with translator these days, it's rare for someone to-"

The area shook.

"What the hell was that?" Garrus asked out loud.

"That mining laser must have destabilized the ruins," Kaidan replied.

Shepard opened the comm. link. "Joker, lock onto our position. We need evacuation ASAP."

"Aye, aye."

The ruins rumbled as the elevator rose. At the top they were greeted by a Krogan warlord and several Geth.

"This place is falling apart and you're trying to stop us?" John asked in disbelief.

"Makes the fight more interesting."

"And natural selection is made more obvious."

The comment engendered a laugh out of Wrex.

"Take cover!"

The squad members took cover behind the various columns. Liara stood there in slight shock. John rushed to her and carried her to cover. She shook out of her initial shock. "S-Sorry."

"It's alright." Shepard aimed his omni-tool at one of the Geth and started hacking. The Geth platform stopped firing on his squad and turned and started shooting at the other two Geth. The rest of the squad assisted in the possessed machine.

The warlord roared and blasted the Geth in the head.

"Get the warlord now!" Shepard ordered.

The Krogan started charging at Shepard. His squad mates tried to mow him down, but the warlord moved too quickly. John jumped to his feet and charged head on while roaring. They connected creating a sound of impact louder than the collapsing ruins. The warlord managed to push Shepard back about ten feet with John's feet sliding against the ground.

John managed to plant his feet and stop the Krogan's advance. It was the only time in Wrex's life that he ever saw any non-Krogan stop a charge. The two struggled to push each other.

"Garrus, take him down!" Kaidan yelled.

"I can't get a shot!" Garrus yelled back. The struggle made it hard to aim at the warlord.

Blue and green energy surrounded Shepard's body as he stared into the eyes of the Krogan. He started to scream as he pushed forward. The warlord couldn't stop the Human's advance. John got more and more momentum. With one final push Shepard pushed the Krogan onto his back. He pulled out his pistol and fired several rounds into his head.

John looked to his squad and yelled, "Move it!"

The squad ran down the walkways as they made their way to the mine's entrance. Rocks were falling all over the place. John made sure everyone was escaping. One rock fell near Tali. The close impact caused her to fall over. John ran to her and helped her to her feet. The two ran behind the whole group as they escaped. They just managed to leaving the mine just as it collapsed. The Normandy was just above them.

VVVVVVV

Everyone was gathered in the comm. room. Everyone was exhausted from the brief, but intense mission. "Too close, Commander," Joker reminded. "Ten more seconds we would be swimming in molten sulfur. The Normandy isn't equipped to land in active volcanoes. They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull."

"We almost die out there and your pilot is making jokes?" Liara asked. She was justifiably upset.

"Joker pulled us out of there," Shepard said. "He's earned the right to a few jokes."

"Must be a Human thing," she muttered. "I'm not used to dealing with your race, Commander. Though thank you for saving my life down there. Not just from the volcano, but against the Geth and even during that battle at the top of the elevator where you dragged me to cover."

"What did Saren want with you?" Kaidan inquired. "Do you know something about the Conduit?"

"Only that it was somehow connected to the Prothean extinction. That is my area of expertise. I've spent the past fifty years trying to figure out what's happen to them."

"I think I know what happened to them," John commented.

"Commander, I have heard every theory there is, the problem is finding evidence to explain what happened. The Protheans left little behind. It was like someone wiped away all evidence of what happened. Now here's the incredible part. According to my findings the Protheans were not the first Galactic civilization to mysteriously vanish. This cycle of extinction has begun long before them."

"If they weren't the first... Who were?"

"I don't know. There is little information on the Protheans and even less on those before them. Though I did find something of interest in my research. It was some records of the Protheans around the time of their extinction. From what I have been able to gather, it mentions of some sort of spirit that tried to warn them of the cataclysm to come."

John shuffled a little. He knew what she was talking about. What was the Oracle doing?

"So what are you saying," Ash asked for clarification. "That some ghost tried to warn them of their destruction?"

"No," Liara answered. "Well, maybe. The records just make a mention to this spirit guide. It tried to warn them of what was to come and even tried to help them advance in their technology and prepare. Say what you will about that, but I am sure of my theory of the cycle of extinction. Every generation of life advances to a point and is then violently struck down. I have dedicated my life to finding out why."

"They were wiped out by a race of sentient machines, the Reapers," Shepard answered.

"T-The Reapers? But I've never heard of- How do you know this? What evidence do you have?"

"We ran into a Prothean beacon on Eden Prime and it implanted a vision into my head. I'm still trying to sort it all out."

"Visions? Of course. Those beacons would be designed to transmit information directly into the mind of the user. No wonder the Geth attacked Eden Prime. A working beacon, even a badly damaged one, would have been worth any cost to get. But they were made to interact with Prothean physiology. Whatever information you received would have been confused, unclear. I am amazed that you can make any sense of it at all. A lesser mind would have been utterly destroyed..."

'Shut up, shut up, shut up,' Tali kept repeating in her head. It was one thing for the Asari to be swooning over John, but it was another to keep going on about how close he was to dying. The thought of it sickened her. It was already painful to have nearly lost him once before on Mindoir.

"...You must be remarkably strong-willed, Commander."

"Okay!" Ashley interrupted. "This is not helping us find Saren or the Conduit."

"Sorry, you're right," Liara adjusted herself. "My... scientific curiousity got the better of me. I'm sorry, but I have no new information to provide to you about the Conduit or Saren."

"I'm sure why Saren wanted you gone, but I think we're better off if you came along."

"Thank you, Commander. Saren might come after me again and I cannot think of a safer place to be than here on the Normandy. My knowledge of the Protheans may come handy later on."

"And her Biotics could come handy when the fighting starts," Wrex commented.

"Welcome aboard, Liara," Shepard greeted.

"Thank you, I'm very grateful- Oooh." Liara swayed a little. "I'm afraid I'm feeling a bit light headed."

"You should probably get checked by Doctor Chakwas."

"I think I will Commander. Thank you."

"Crew dismissed," Shepard announced.

The squad mates got up and walked out of the comm. room.

"Mission reports have been filed," Joker said over the speakers. "Want me to patch you through to the Council?"

"Patch them through."

The three orange holograms appeared before him.

"We received your mission report, Commander," the Asair said. "I see that Doctor T'Soni is aboard the Normandy."

"I assume you are taking the necessary security precautions," Velarn, the Turian, asked.

"Liara is on our side, the Geth were trying to kill her."

"Benezia would never allow Saren to harm her daughter," the Asari assured.

"Maybe she doesn't know," the Salarian suggested.

"Or maybe we don't know her," the Turian muttered. "We didn't know she could be a traitor."

"Well, at least the mission was a success."

"Apart from the utter destruction of a Prothean ruin," Velarn scolded. "Was that necessary, Commander?"

"Apparently you skimmed past the part that mentions that the ruins were crawling with Geth. My team and I barely got out of there alive."

A look of irritation came across the Councilor's face.

"Of course, Commander," the Salarian assured. "The mission must always take priority."

"Good luck, Commander. Remember, we are all counting on you," the Asari said before the holograms cut out.

Shepard sighed in annoyance. He turned around to see Tali still waiting there for him. "Hey, Tali. Something wrong?"

"No," she replied. "I just wanted to thank you for coming back for me. Especially with the ruins crumbling..."

"Of course I'd come back for you Tali. Anyways, I'm sure your father would kill me if something happened to you."

Tali let out a small laugh.

"Speaking of which. Have you spoken to him lately?"

"Yes, I did. I mentioned I ran into you and I'm helping you on your mission." There was a small sigh of disappointment. "He sees this as an unnecessary detour on my Pilgrimage."

'Of course he does,' Shepard thought.

"But I know how important this mission is. Even if he doesn't realize it."

"We if it means anything, I'm glad to have you along."

"It does mean a lot," Tali said before quickly correcting herself, "uh, coming from a soldier like you of course."

Shepard smiled and was about to say something when Joker said over the ship's PA, "Sorry to interrupt Commander, but we have Admiral Hackett on the line."

"Okay, Joker." Shepard looked to Tali, "I'll see you later, Tali."

VVVVVV

Over the next several missions for the Alliance, the crew more trusting of Liara. With some military training from Shepard, she grew more skilled in combat using weapons and her Biotic abilities.

Tali just finished her shift and was heading to the Mess to get something to eat. There she heard several of the female crew members talking. There was some laughter. With them was Ashley and Liara. Tali at first got bad vibes from Williams, but as time went on she grew friendlier.

"Hey Tali," Ashley called to her.

"Yes, Chief Williams?"

"You off duty?"

"Yes, I just finished my shift."

"Then grab your food and sit here with us, and please Ash when we're off duty."

Tali quickly got her food and sat down at the table. "So what are you all talking about?"

"Shepard," one of the crew members answered.

"I was asking about the Commander," Liara added. "And it just turned into a topic of conversation for us."

"We all know his military background," Ash pointed out. "Like saving Elysium from pirates, surviving on Akuze, and Torfan. But none of us here know anything about him." A realization came to Ashley. "Tali, you knew Shepard since before we met."

"Yes," she replied, "we've been friends for over fifteen years."

The crew's eyes went wide.

"Damn," Ashley shook her head. "That is a damn long time to know someone. So you knew him on Mindoir."

"Yes. Shepard volunteered at the Quarian shelter. He was actually the first person to volunteer there."

"What was he like as a kid?"

Tali took a moment to ponder the question. "Honestly? Not much different than he is now. Actually, he was sadder."

"Sadder?" Liara repeated.

"He never said anything about how he felt, but you could tell by his voice. His eyes. You could tell that he was facing intense pain."

"What type of pain are you referring to?" Liara further inquired.

"I've asked him. He didn't want to talk about his time before coming to Mindoir. All I know is that he had a horrifying childhood."

Liara, Ash and the other crew members went back in their chairs to take that answer in.

"Hard to believe with the way Shepard acts or treats us," Ash commented. "So tell me. Did he have friends? Did he have a girlfriend?"

Tali jerked hearing the question. "Well, Shepard was always... different. He was a, what does your race call someone who is isolated?"

"A loner?"

"Yes, that. Any free time he had been spent at either the Shelter or his legal guardian's farm. So as far as I could tell, he had no social life."

Ashley and the other crew members couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.

"Did I saw something wrong?"

"No," Ash replied. "It's just in human culture, saying someone doesn't have a social life is the equivalent of calling them a loser."

"What?" she yelped. "I-I didn't mean to say that- I wasn't trying to-"

"Tali, calm down. We know that you didn't mean it like that."

Tali loosened up after her assurance.

"How did you and Shepard first meet?" Liara asked to rid the conversation of the awkwardness.

"Well, my mother was in charge of ensuring that our people were treated well at the Shelter. So she made frequent trips there. I came with her for every trip. It's not often that any child leaves the Migrant Fleet before their Pilgrimage. It was a way to ready me for when that day comes. Our first trip to Mindoir was just a month after it opened. Shepard was the first one to greet us. It was an overwhelming moment for me. This was not only the first time I left the Fleet but also the first time I met someone of another race."

"Yeah, I get it," Ash said. "I'd probably be the same if I visited a Turian colony at your age."

"It kind of got worse later that day."

"How so?" Liara asked.

"I was... naïve and stupid."

VVVVVV

16 years ago...

It was dark out. Mindoir's two moons lit the field. Tali followed the group of five colonists from the Shelter. It was shortly after everyone had gone to sleep. Tali was told by the volunteers that they had a surprise welcoming present for her, but she was told to not tell her mother about it. They continued walking until they got to a hill. The other side of it was steep.

"Um, where's the surprise?" Tali asked innocently.

"You're going to take off your mask," the leader of the group said. "We want to know what you're kind looks like."

Tali's heart jumped a beat at that sentence. Her breathing became very shallow.

"Surprise!" he said in a sarcastic tone.

"N-No, you can't," she pleaded. "Mother said I-I'd die if I did that."

"Does it look like we care?" he looked to his friends. "We do what we want with her and then toss her over the cliff. It'll just look like she was just some stupid little girl who wandered out at night and got herself killed."

Tali turned and ran as fast as she could but the group of monsters easily caught up to her and pushed her to the ground. The four friends held her arms and legs while the leader of the group felt around her helmet. Tali struggled to moved, but with the five guys holding her down, she couldn't. She was admonishing herself for being so stupid.

"Where's the damn button?" he growled.

"Please stop!" she screamed. "I don't want to die!"

"Let her go!" another voice roared.

The five looked up and saw John standing there.

"I'd advise you to leave, freak."

"No way in hell."

The five older teenagers stood up. One of them held Tali in a lock to prevent her escape.

"I'm giving you one last chance, Shepard!"

"And I'm telling you to let her go." Shepard took a few steps forward.

"Words won't help you here. You push this, we'll kill you."

"So be it. By my life I will not allow this to go forward."

A sadistic grin came across the leader's face. "I just realize we can send you over the cliff with the Bucket here and have her death pinned on you."

Tali was filled with fear but with hope at the same time. This human was willing to sacrifice his life to save her. All she could do was pray Keelah watches over him. She saw a look of rage come across Shepard's face.

Shepard pulled out his omni-tool and placed a quick call.

"Mindoir Medical."

"This is John Shepard. I'm going to need..." He quickly counted. "Five ambulances."

"Five?"

"Yeah. Terrible injuries." Shepard pointed to each member of the ground and announced to each of them, "Broken clavicle. Dislocated shoulders. Popped elbow with a third-degree sprained ankle. Fractured ribs. Comminuted fracture of both knee caps."

"Get him!" the leader ordered.

Shepard cut the call short. Two of the teenagers ran at him only to have their attacks redirected, sending them to the ground. They quickly got to their feet and tried again. Shepard stopped trying to be nice. He stomped one of them in the chest knocking him back, while in pulled his arm back and slammed down on the other in the shoulder region. They all could hear a break.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck," the guy screamed. He fell to ground with his hand over his clavicle.

"You bastard!" the other bellowed. He charged at Shepard.

In a swift motion, John went under him and launched him over in a throw. Everything slowed down for the assailant. He watched as Shepard twirled around facing him. When he was positioned right, Shepard lifted his foot and kicked him in the chest. The assailant felt several of his ribs crack and then break. Time for him sped up and felt the force send him flying by ten feet. Breathing was agonizing.

The teenager holding Tali gave her to the leader of the group and went forth with the other. The guy ahead made the first punch at Shepard. Shepard grabbed him by the wrist with his left hand. A look of terror came to his face as he realized his poor, poor judgment. John pulled his right arm back and launched his palm forward bending his elbow in the opposite direction. The attacker didn't even have chance to feel the pain before Shepard stepped on his foot and twisted his body. His ankle was horribly damaged.

All of this happened before the second guy could reach there. He was so damn fast. There was some hesitation in his attack. Shepard grabbed his arm as well and spun him around. His other arm waved over allowing John to grab it as well. The attacker was leaning forward with both of his arms held behind his back. Shepard planted his foot on his back and pulled his arms back as hard as he could. Two loud and disgusting pops were heard. The last attacker fell to the ground crying, unable to get up due to his useless arms.

John looked to the leader and Tali. He had a knife pointed at her.

"Don't do this, Drake."

"Like hell I do! Now back away or I'll stab her."

"Please help me," Tali begged.

John's hand glowed blue and waved it. The knife came out of Drake's hand. "Oh fuck me! A Biotic freak." Drake's shock gave Tali the chance to escape. She kicked his leg and ran. "Ow, you bitch!"

Shepard approached him. As a last ditch effort Drake attacked. "It's over, Drake."

"Fuck you, John!" Drake reached to his side and pulled out another knife and tried slashing at him.

"Idiot," John growled. He deliberately fell to his back and shot his feet forward. His kick connected to Drake's knees sending him to the ground. It a roll, John jumped to his feet and watched Drake fall to the ground.

John scanned the area for Tali. She was standing close by. "Are you okay, Miss Tali'Zorah?"

Tali didn't answer. She ran forward. John got down on one knee and embraced her. He could hear her crying.

"It's okay," he cooed. "It's okay. You're safe now. They won't hurt you again. I promise, and I don't make promises I can't keep."

"Thank you," she cried.

Shepard pulled away just far enough that he could look her in the eyes. "I'll protect you. I'll be your guardian. I promise."

VVVVVV

"He then carried me all the way back to the Shelter."

"That was an amazing story," Liara said.

"That actually explains the Commander's behavior on the Citadel," Ash commented.

"What do you mean?"

"The Commander was practically on a warpath to find you. I guess keeping a promise is important to him."

"That's just the way he is."

"Though tell me. What happened then? There must have been a major mess after that night."

"Oh yes," Tali said in a slightly amused tone. "Mother was extremely upset that I was nearly killed our first night there. The colonists were thinking of bringing criminal charges against Shepard. The parents of the attackers were especially upset. Demanded he apologized to their kids. Shepard told them and he'd 'rather rot in solitary confinement than apologize to their scum bag children.' Luckily given the situation, the charges were dropped and the five attackers were severely punished."

"Damn, Tali, you need to join us more often for our breaks," Ash said.

"I'm afraid this break will have to be cut short," Shepard said as he came in only in time to hear the last line.

"I see you back from your mission with Garrus and Wrex."

"Yeah, well we just got a message from Admiral Hackett. I need you two to come with me on this one."

"What's the mission?" Tali asked.

"Batarian terrorists have taken over an asteroid that was meant for mining. They're trying to use it to do an orbital drop."

Tali, Liara and Ashley stood up right away.

"Are they insane?" Ashley yelled. "Which planet?"

"Terra Nova."


	9. Bring It Down

Chapter 7: Bring It Down

The last of the Batarian forces fell as Shepard, Tali and Ash made their way to the back of the plaza. The plasma torches were put out removing the immediate threat of Terra Nova's destruction. Along the way to this center hub Shepard's group ran into Balak's second-in-command. He was subdued and left in the facility. Saying, "this was just supposed to be another slave grab," did not gain sympathy with Shepard.

The three soldiers stood at the base of the stairs in the back of the room. At the top were several Batarians with Varren warhounds. The Batarian in the middle had a green face with yellow stripes on the side of his head. He wore medium-class red armor.

"You humans," he said with disgust. "You're almost more trouble than you're worth."

"Let the hostages go, Balak," Shepard demanded. "It's over."

"This isn't over!" Balak bellowed. "I'm leaving this asteroid. If you stop me I'll set off these charges and your helper and her friends will die."

Shepard glanced over to the hostages as he spoke and saw them frantically trying to find a way to deactivate the bomb.

"You can't just leave, Balak," Shepard said. "Not after what you've done here."

"This is nothing!" he shot back. "You Humans have done far worse to the Batarians! We-"

"Oh and please tell me which planets Humans have done rock drops on?" Shepard roared. "How many millions have Humans killed? Don't you dare try to compare this to anything the Alliance has done!"

"Damn right," Ash said approvingly. "Don't you dare say Humanity has stooped this low asshole."

"We were forced into exile!" Balak countered. "Forced to survive on what we can scourge up. It's been like this for decades!"

"You stupid bastard, your people's government voluntarily withdrew their embassy from the Citadel and went into exile themselves because they couldn't have some planets that were legally granted to Humans. You weren't forced."

"Of course we were forced out! It's because of you! You and your kind are the reason why we are in this position."

"How does killing millions of innocents make up for that?"

"We had no other option! Sometimes you need to get someone's attention before they listen. That why we attack your Elysium, but you thwarted that attack. You came to Torfan and took another one of our worlds and dozens of my people as prisoners! You, Commander Shepard, came to become the most hated individual in my people's history!"

"You attacked us! And when we fought back to ran to the Council. When they refused to help, you just ran. Fucking cowards. Unable to fight your own damn battles."

"Enough! You couldn't possibly understand. Actually you just don't want to understand, and I'm done wasting my breath. Now if you want your friends to live, I suggest you step aside."

Tali and Ash looked to Shepard waiting for his choice.

"Go," he said reluctantly. "But this isn't over. I'll find you soon, and that's a promise. And Balak, when I make a promise, I keep them."

"Maybe, but I made sure you won't find me today. Those charges are set on a timer. You should hurry to disarm them." Balak and his group exited the room as a dozen drones entered the area along with a dozen Batarians.

"Ash, Tali cover me!" Shepard said as he went behind cover. Tali and Ash went down next to him and provided covering fire. Shepard activated his omni-tool trying to get a comm. link up.

"That was the right thing to do Shepard," Tali reassured him.

"I'm not sure," Ash said. "I mean Balak could do this to someone else."

"Joker, here, Commander."

"Joker, a vessel is going to be leaving this asteroid soon. Engage heat sinks and pursue it. When I give the order, fire a torpedo at these coordinates on the vessel. Batarian vessels use fairly consistent ship design."

"Aye, aye, Commander." Shepard then turned to Ash and Tali.

"What was-" Ash tried to get out.

"No time!" Shepard yelled. "I want you two to disarm the bombs around the area, my omni-tool detects three of them around here. I'll hack the drones to give you back-up. I'll go after the bomb next to the hostages."

The two women nodded in acknowledgement. Shepard rapidly worked on his omni-tool to get into the facility's defense network which was originally hacked by the Batarians. John switched the drones to shoot at the Batarian terrorists and the Varren. This gave Ash and Tali breathing room to disarm the bombs.

Shepard took out Nemain as he approached the room the hostages were in. Blue and green energy surrounded the blade. He stabbed the blade in one side of the door and sliced the door downwards. John slashed the door three more times. He raised his arm and used his biotics to move the door out of the way. The hostages went up against the wall and let Shepard disarm the bomb.

The charge beeped a couple of times to signify its shut down. He gave a sigh of relief.

"Commander," Tali said over the radio.

"Yes, Tali?"

"The last of the bombs have been disabled."

Shepard jumped to his feet and connected to the Normandy. "Joker, do you read?"

"Yes, Commander. I have the Batarian ship in my sights."

"Take the shot."

"With pleasure."

"And be sure to recover the pods."

John slumped against the wall with a smile on his face. He slid down and sat on the ground. Kate, one of the hostages, crouched down in front of him with a smile on her face. "You did it. You saved Terra Nova and us. Thank you." She offered a hand to Shepard.

Shepard grabbed her hand and got up. "I'm just sorry I wasn't able to save that other person on the line." He was referencing the other person he overheard being executed.

"You did what you could. I never did get your name."

"Commander Shepard."

"Thank you, Shepard. From all of us."

"Kate?"

Kate looked over to the source of the voice to see Simon. "Simon, you're okay."

"Yeah. I'm glad to see you're alright."

"I should attend to the others," she said to him.

"Yeah..." Simon waited for Kate to leave before saying. "He left... Is that okay?"

"Oh, he didn't get away," Shepard assured him.

"Yeah, what was that with Joker?" Ashley asked.

"I gave Joker the coordinates to hit to disable the ship. By now the life support systems should be deactivating leaving Balak and his men with little choice but to use the life pods."

"What if he tries to commit suicide?" Tali asked.

"Balak is too much of a coward to take his own life to avoid interrogation and imprisonment."

VVVVVV

Shepard entered the ship's brig where Balak was kept. He sat on a bench in the back of the cell. "I told you I would find you soon," he said.

"Are you here to gloat?" he growled.

"No. I'm here to notify you that we're taking you down to Terra Nova where you will be turned over to Alliance authorities."

"My imprisonment doesn't change anything. The Batarians have stayed hidden long enough. There are thousands more like me out there, waiting their turn. Each one willing to die for our cause."

"And what cause is that? Taking any planet you choose? Enslaving thousands?"

"Slavery is a part of our culture."

"Your culture is wrong."

"How dare you! Racist bastard."

"That's ironic you call me a racist for calling a culture based on prejudging individuals based on appearances, castes and allowing slavery of others wrong," he quipped. Shepard stared at him at the area between his eyes. While many try to focus on one set of eyes or another, Shepard knew you look at the ridge in between. That is the center of their view-field. This made him a lot more intimidating when interrogating Batarian prisoners. "Freedom is the right of all sentient life. Eventually your race is going to face a crossroad. It will be either change and survive or stay the same and die out. Your race isn't going to end because of the Humans or any other species. It will end because life at its very essence is change. Resistance to change only leads to self-destruction. I don't want your race to die out but your culture will lead down that pathway. I'll leave you to that thought."

Balak tilted his head to the right and scoffed. "When vids of your colonies burning are played, you will know that the Batarian rebellion has begun."

"And my people will be ready," Shepard said before leaving the brig.

VVVVVV

"...And I just don't get the Hegemony," Shepard sighed.

John sat next to Aether in the Presidium. The Normandy was back at the Citadel for resupply and a brief break for the crew.

"Well, their culture has had slavery for over a thousand years," Aether pointed out.

"Even then, the Humans stopped officially supporting slavery several hundred years ago," Shepard argued. "At least among the major nations on Earth. But Batarians... It's not just a few nations, but their entire culture. How can they not see what is wrong with their caste system. With slavery."

"Change has to come from within a race. If they are unable to change then they will fade away like anything else that resists change, and the Batarians will have no one else to blame but themselves for it."

"I just don't want to watch another race die out, especially this way."

"Don't blame yourself, Commander. Especially over this." Aether patted him on the shoulder. "Just deal with one problem at a time. Or in this case two. Cerberus and Reapers. That's enough for you."

"Speaking of which... For the first time in years, we have a lead on Cerberus."

"Oh?" Aether turned towards Shepard in interest.

"An Admiral by the name of Kahoku had me check on his missing marines. They were killed by Thresher Maws. It was a trap for them. I was later contacted by him stating that Cerberus was responsible for it. He gave me the location to some of their bases. After my crew is done here, we're going to pay them a visit."

A grin came to Aether's face. "Then the time to seek justice is upon us. I wish you luck in the mission. May Cerberus forever wade in the void."

Shepard got to his feet. "We can only hope for so much."

"Before you go..." Aether reached into the pocket of his cloak. He pulled out an injector with a vial inserted into it. The fluid of the vial was a light green color. "I wanted you to know that it's complete."

Aether placed the injector into Shepard's hands. "This will work?"

"100%," Aether replied in confidence. "It will take a while to get enough to fulfill the quota, but the hardest part is over. I thought you would like one."

Shepard stared at him for a moment.

"For your Quarian friend of course. Tali'Zorah."

"And how do I approach that conversation? 'Hey, Tali, just so happens I have the remedy to your weak immune system. Where did I get it you ask? Why just from some friends.' She would not believe I just happen to have friends who are geniuses at biotechnology."

"You could just tell her the truth."

"I..." The thought has crossed his mind many times, but he kept it quiet. To tell her the truth of whom he really is.

"Look John as much as you try to deny it, I know you have found your Eli'Dimi. Why continue to hide your real feelings to her."

"She deserves better than me," Shepard replied in a somber tone.

"Better than you...?"

"My mind, body and soul have been scarred. Tali deserves to be happy with someone who doesn't have...baggage. I've been dishonest with her for the last 15 years. That alone makes me unsuitable for her."

"If she feels the same way about you as you do about her, and I do believe she does, then I think she would understand. The truth about your origin doesn't change who you are or were to her. Because John, you deserve to be happy too. Especially after everything you've been through. Just- think about telling her. About everything."

John looked at the injector again. "I'll think about it."

Aether pulled the hood of his cloak forward to ready for his disappearance.

"Oh, Aether."

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"Anytime," he said before vanishing.


	10. Truth

Chapter 8: Truth

Shepard's mentality had been shaken as his crew and he cleared Cerberus facilities and bases, and his crew noticed. He looked more disturbed, afraid and angry. While his emotions weren't in his voice nor were they in his actions, they were in his eyes. The intensity grew after finding Admiral Kahoku's body at one of the previous Cerberus bases they found and destroyed. The Normandy just had two locations to look into before their leads into Cerberus dried up. It was at a base on Ontarom to investigate the deaths of several Alliance scientists, Shepard ran into a familiar face.

"Shepard?" Toombs gasped. His arm was shaky as he aimed at the frightened scientist. "My god, Shepard, is that you?"

"Toombs?" Shepard gasped. It was his old buddy from his unit on Akuze. All this time he thought he had died when the Thresher Maws attacked. "I thought you died. I saw you get attacked by that Thresher Maw!"

Kaidan and Tali, who were with him, looked to Shepard and to Toombs.

"The scientists took me Shepard."

"You can't prove any of this!" the scientists screamed. "This man is delusional!"

"They were running tests on the Thresher Maws," Toombs explained. "They let those things hit us just to watch and study. I woke up in a holding cell. The scientists were delighted that I had survived. Now they had someone to run tests on."

"Toombs, I spent the entire week I was on the planet searching for anyone... anyone who survived the attack," Shepard said remorsefully.

"You can't believe Toombs," the scientist scoffed. "He doesn't have any proof. I demand a fair trial."

"He was there, you bastard!" Toombs roared. "He knows the truth! They were part of a secret organization, Cerberus, that runs secret tests like this. They treated me like a lab animal. This man deserves to die, Shepard! For you, for me, for those who weren't lucky enough to get off of Akuze. Are you with me?"

"You're better than this, Toombs," Shepard said. "You're not like them."

"Don't tell me who I am!" Toombs bellowed. "You got away with a few scratches and a scary reputation! I was tortured for years, Shepard! You can't judge me! You don't have the right!"

"You think you were the only one who Cerberus tortured Toombs?" Shepard inquired. "You don't think I don't know what you've been through?"

"What are you talking about, Shepard?"

"Cerberus killed everyone I've ever known and loved, Toombs!" Shepard exploded.

Tali and Kaidan stared at Shepard in shock.

"Cerberus found me when I was four-years-old. They took me and killed my entire family. They proceeded to torture me until I was ten when I finally escaped the torture! I had to bury my own family and I swore upon their graves that that injustice could not go unpunished. Cerberus took everything from me! I know exactly how you feel!"

"I-I didn't know," Toombs muttered. "If that's true then why are you trying to stop me when you know exactly what they've done?"

Shepard took a couple steps towards Toombs. "Because as much as I want their organization destroyed. The last thing I want is for their crimes to fade into obscurity. Killing this man will only help Cerberus. It'll cover up what they did on Akuze. You want justice for what was done to you and the others on Akuze? We take this man in, and let the galaxy know exactly what Cerberus has done. Don't let Cerberus turn you into a murderer, Toombs."

Toombs thought on what Shepard said for a moment before lowering his weapon. "Okay. You're right. I don't want this covered up. We take this to trial. Let everyone know what they've done. Maybe the screaming will stop now. I don't know."

Shepard placed a hand on Toombs' shoulder. "It'll fade over time. I promise you that."

VVVVVV

The crew sat at the table in the mess thinking over what happened. Tali, Garrus, Kaidan, Ashley, Liara, Joker and several other crew members were seated. "I just can't believe that's what happened to the Commander when he was a kid," Kaidan said.

"Did Shepard ever tell you about this, Tali?" Liara asked Tali.

"N-No," she replied. "He's never- Every time I asked him about his past he would tell me that it was an upsetting issue that he wasn't ready to talk about yet. I-I just wish I didn't find out like that?"

"Can't really blame him for that," Kaidan said. "Toombs would have likely killed that scientist if Shepard hadn't said all that he did."

"Did Shepard say anything else?" Garrus asked. "Like where he was held? Who were involved?"

"No," Kaidan replied shaking his head. "When we tried asked for further elaboration, Shepard just said, 'Back to the Mako.' He went directly to his cabin and he's been there since we finished the mission. He... seems fairly upset."

"Someone should talk to him," Ashley suggested while looking at Tali.

"Me?" she said.

"You are Shepard's best friend," Ash pointed out. "It only seems right that it'd be you to make sure he's okay."

Tali got up from the table. "You're right, Ash." She walked towards Shepard's cabin. The door was set to lock. "Shepard? It's Tali. Can I come in?" The light on door went green. She opened the door and walked in.

"Well, hopefully she'll take care of things," Ash said with a slight yawn. "I need to finish weapon inspection before heading to get some shut eye. See you all later."

"I think I'll look into those Prothean disks we recovered," Liara said as she got up.

"Alright now that they're all gone," Joker said. "I'm starting up a new pool."

"And the bet?" one of the crewmen asked.

"Who will Shepard go for?" Joker announced. "Liara or Ashley."

Garrus' mandibles went apart. "We find out about Shepard's traumatized past, and you're making bets on who Shepard will bed?"

"Easy, Garrus," one of the crew members said. "It's not like we're trying to bet whether or not Shepard will go crazy. And this isn't the first time we've made pools. The last one was whether or not the point behind the Eden Prime mission was to see if Shepard was being tested to be a Spectre."

"I made a killing on that one," Joker commented. He took out a blank credit chit and placed it on the table. "Okay just like last time, credits go onto this credit chit. The winner or winners will have the total credits on here. I'll be checking with everyone else on the ship to see if they're joining in. So who will it be: Liara or Ashley. Now we know Shepard has been frequently visiting Liara in her room next to the med-bay; even giving her 'one-on-one' training when many of the crew members here are more than capable of doing it. And then there's Ashley where they exchange poetry, plus the 'Oh Captain, my Captain' line she pulled could have gotten his attention. Kaidan?"

Kaidan gave it a thought and activated his credit chit. "Liara."

"The Chief," one of the crewmen said.

"Wiliams," said the other.

Joker placed his bet on the omni-tool and looked to Garrus. "You joining in Garrus?"

"Why not?" Garrus shrugged. "Though, mind if I put my credits towards a third-candidate."

This caught the attention of the crew around the table.

"Sure..." Joker said. "But who's the third?"

"Seriously?" Garrus chided. "I may not be experienced in Human affection, but even I could see it."

"Who?"

"Tali'Zorah. I mean, I see the Commander really smile when she's around. And then there was when he found her in the alley. Let's just say that hug was a little too friendly."

"Is it even possible to have a relationship with a Quarian that isn't platonic?" one of the crewmen asked. "If I recall, Quarians are stuck in those suits because of their weakened immune systems. Right?"

"True..." Kaidan agreed. "Garrus, have you ever heard of a Quarian leaving their suit for someone of another race?"

"I've heard of... rumors. It's extremely dangerous for a Quarian to leave their suit for someone else. It's even risky to do it with their own race. With another race, they would need anti-biotics, a clean room, et cetera, et cetera. And then they could risk an infection that could kill them. A lot of trust and preparation is involved."

"How exactly do you know all this?" Kaidan asked.

"I'm one of the few C-Sec officers who are more... tolerant towards Quarians. And of course you need to be knowledgeable of other races and cultures in my line of work. I'll tell you, I've seen Quarians date other races, but never leave their suits."

VVVVVV

Tali walked into Shepard's room and saw him sitting on the foot of his bed. He was watching a holo-screen of, in Tali's opinion, a beautiful woman who was singing. She was around eighteen years old and had medium-length red hair. She was singing in a language that didn't translate for Tali. The woman's singing was angelic. Tali felt really moved by it. The song was just at its end shortly after she entered the room, leaving Tali a little dissatisfied.

Shepard looked over to her and gave her a weak, sad smile. "Hey, Tali." He wave to her to get her to move forward.

"I wanted to see how you were doing."

"Better I guess." He leaned forward and planted his elbows, clamped his hands together and rested his head on them.

"Who was that you were listening to?" Talia asked just to fill the silence.

"I'ana. My older sister."

Tali stiffened at the response. His sister?

"Would you like to sit here with me?"

Considering it was on his bed, it was a little awkward for her, but she couldn't refuse the offering. "Yes." Tali came up next to him and slowly sat down next to him.

"She really has a beautiful singing voice."

"She does, doesn't she? When Cerberus did what they did to me, I had only two things left from my original life. My family's sword, Nemain, and two recordings of my sister singing. I would occasionally listen to her to ease my nerves or just to remember her. Would you like to hear the other recording?"

"Yes, I would."

The screen in front of them flickered and there she stood opening with a singing tone that expressed a musically rhythm.

Hahren na melana sahlin  
Emma ir abelas  
Souver'inan isala hamin  
Vhenan him dor'felas  
In uthenera na revas 

She sang the same tone from the beginning of the song.

Vir sulahn'nehn  
Vir dirthera  
Vir samahl la numin  
Vir lath sa'vunin

The video ended after she took a bow before a large theatre.

"T-That was amazing. What was that song about?"

"It was about someone dying and the feeling of loss we feel when someone's time has come. But continues to say even though that person has died, their memories still live on in those who cared for them."

"I've never heard that language though. I thought Humans translated all their languages."

"It's a long dead language," he replied with further explaining. "I'm sorry you found out about my life like that."

"It's okay-"

"No it's not," Shepard interrupted. "I've called you my best friend, but I didn't tell you this. Even then it wasn't the full truth."

"It isn't?"

"No," Shepard said as he stood up.

Tali got to her feet as well.

"It was only a small part of the truth." Shepard looked her in the eyes. "I-I want you to be the first person I want to tell about my life. About who I am." Shepard reached forward and lightly grabbed Tali's hands, allowing them to rest in his palms.

The gesture surprised Tali, but it was not unwelcomed. She blushed a little.

"I've been afraid to tell you because I was worried you would hate me for not telling you for so long. The way things are going... I want you to be the first to know. "

"John..." she cooed.

"Tali, I'm-"

"Commander," Joker said over the comm. system.

A look of irritation came across Shepard's face. "Yes, Joker?"

"We are making our approach to Nepheron."

"Got it Joker."

"We need to be ready, I want you on the ground with Garrus."

"Okay, Shepard." She reluctantly took her hands back. It was nice holding his hands.

"Oh, and Tali?"

"Yes?"

Another surprising gesture, Shepard wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "Thank you for everything."

Tali couldn't help but wrap her arms around him, just to feel this close to him. It felt so nice.

"I'll tell you everything after the mission Tali, I promise."

VVVVVV

Garrus and Tali sat at the back of the Mako as Shepard drove towards the final Cerberus base. The two sat across from each other. Garrus noticed Tali just staring at Shepard. She looked like she was day-dreaming. Garrus gave her foot a light tap. This broke her concentration. Even though he couldn't see her face through the mask, he could tell she was not happy. Garrus tapped on his helmet to tell her to switch to a private conversation.

"How did it go with Shepard?" he asked sincerely.

"As well as- it possibly can. He'll be okay."

"What did you two talk about?"

"A little about the Cerberus thing. I-I can't say much more than that."

"Did you tell him how you feel about him?"

"What?" Tali yelled to the point where she was worried that Shepard might have somehow heard her. "What gave you the idea that I-I-"

"Tali, relax," Garrus said, surprised at her outburst. "I know. You would have to be blind not to see how you look at him or even act around him. Of course I guess that means the entire Normandy crew is blind."

Tali rubbed her arm. "No, I didn't."

"Why not?"

"Why no- Why do you think? I am stuck in this suit. I can't even show him my face without getting ill. What type of relationship could I have with him?"

"Just a question. Have you seen him with other friends?"

"Other than the Normandy crew? No."

"Have you seen him with a girlfriend or mention someone significant to him?"

"No..."

"Tali, I may not be an expert on Humans, but that sounds like dedication. Frankly, I think he feels the same way about you."

"Look Garrus, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but-"

She was cut off when the Mako's cannon fired shaking the vehicle. Several more rounds went off before the tank came to a full stop.

"Base's perimeter is clear," Shepard announced. "Ready yourselves. This base is going to be one hell of a fight."

"Got it, Shepard," Garrus acknowledged.

They got out of the tank and approached the base's entrance. They went inside and allowed the airlock to do its cycle to allow them inside. The first room of the base was empty, but Shepard's motion tracker could sense move in the room ahead. Shepard approached the doorway to the door and nodded to Garrus and Tali to take cover.

The door sprung open. Shepard rushed to the structure's support to take cover from the Cerberus operatives' fire. "Tali, take out the operative's shield on the right! Garrus same, but the one to the one second to the left."

His team mates responded immediately. John saw the two operatives' shields flash signifying their elimination. Shepard used a pull field causing the two Cerberus agents to fly towards their firing range. They screamed as they watched Tali and Garrus take aim. Bang! Bang! Their lifeless bodies somersaulted from the impacted of the rounds. Two operatives down. Four to go.

Shepard pulled out two grenades and searched the area for the other operatives. Two of them jumped out of cover and started charging at his team. John threw each of his grenades to each of the charging agents. Each grenade stuck to their intended targets. The operatives saw what clamped down on their suits and they frantically tried to remove it. Shepard activated his omni-tool and set off the grenades. Their bodies blew into two bloody halves.

Shepard heard gunfire from his team mates and saw that they took down the other two operatives.

"Area's clear, Shepard," Garrus said. "We should check to see if they have any databases."

"Right," Shepard agreed.

They moved towards the backrooms. Garrus and Tali followed Shepard to the room of the left. Inside the room was a large database with a terminal in the back of the room.

"There must be untold amounts of data on Cerberus here," Tali though out loud.

"Finally something," Shepard exclaimed, a slight amount of joy and relief in his voice. He approached the terminal and went through its menu to download its data. An alarm went off at the terminal. A program activated and started to purge its data. "No, no, no!" Shepard yelled as his begun hacking its defenses. "Override. Countermanding. Overwrite!" he yelled these things as he tried stopping the purge. A text came up acknowledging his command input, stopping the purge. "Recover. Restore." Shepard breathed a sigh of relief. It was too close. He downloaded the Cerberus data. "Alright, I got the data."

"Which you'll be handing back over to us," another voice said.

Shepard and Garrus turned around to see a squad of a dozen Cerberus operatives. The leader of the group was holding Tali with a knife held to her.

"I'm sorry, John," Tali said.

"You're going to drop your weapons and surrender, or I'll open this Bucket's suit," the operative said.

"Let her go!" Shepard demanded with his pistol leveled at his head.

"I told you to drop your weapons or she fucking dies! Now!"

Tali grabbed the operative's hand that was holding the knife and struggled against him. Shepard couldn't get a shot with the struggling. The operative pressed down on her stomach hard making her gasp. The pause was enough for him to pull his arm back and slam the butt of his knife into Tali's head, knocking her out.

Shepard pulled out Nemain and roared, "Let her go now!"

The stance Shepard took was all too familiar to the operative. His eyes widen. "No... It can't be..."

Shepard finally got a good look at his face. A scar ran diagonally across his face from the top of his right brow to the bottom left of his lips. He knew this man.

"You!" Shepard bellowed. "You're the one who killed my family!"

"No!" the man yelled in a scared voice. His operatives were confused by their leader's sudden change in confidence. "Y-You're dead. You and your whole species is dead."

Now Garrus was confused. "What is he talking about, Shepard?"

"Now is not the time Garrus." Shepard looked at the scarred man in the eyes. It really was him. The man who tortured him. Experimented on him. Forced him to watch his parents have their throats slit. "You remember me. Then you know exactly what I'm capable of. Let her go and you won't be harmed."

"You think you have me fooled, Artician? I know that after what we did to your galaxy, you're here to make us pay for it."

"I'm offering you a way out alive."

The scarred man looked to Tali and then smiled. "Tell me, Artician. Just what is this Bucket to you?"

Shepard didn't answer.

"She means a lot to you, doesn't she?" he gave a throaty chuckle. "She's your Eli'Demi, isn't she?"

Again Sheppard didn't answer.

"Looks like I have my own way out alive." The scarred man used his knife and cut across Tali's stomach. Her suit was open and her skin was cut. Her dark red blood bled from the wound.

"No!" Shepard screamed. His vision began to fade and then turn black.

"Tali!" Garrus yelled. Garrus looked to Shepard. Something happened to him. "Shepard!"

Shepard stood there lifeless. His gun and sword dropped from his hands.

"Shepard, what are you doing?" Garrus yelled.

"Don't bother, Turian," the scarred man said to him. "When an Artician's Eli'Dimi is killed or is dying, the same happens to them. Shepard at the moment is either dead or dying. Either way, the Illusive Man's going to reward me for finding him."

"What the hell is an Artician?" Garrus demanded to know.

"A mistake in Cerberus' past. Now frankly we have no use for you, so..." he signaled his operatives to open fire.

Before they could comply with the order, electricity shot around Shepard's body. His head rose up. John's eyes glowed bright green light. His hands twitched. Green energy went over his hands and formed claws over each of his fingers.

"Shepard?" Garrus said to him. "Are you ok-"

Garrus was cut off by Shepard who gave a demonic roar. The sound was the most terrifying thing he was ever heard, or experienced.

"Oh, god," the scarred man muttered. "Kill it! Kill it!"

The operatives open fired at Shepard. The mysterious green energy stopped any round from wounding him. Shepard vanished and then reappeared in front of one of the operatives. The green energy went over Shepard's face given him the appearance of a monster. The operative was petrified. The possessed Shepard pulled his hand back and struck. The operative was instantly decapitated. His body stood for a full two seconds before falling over.

Garrus continued watching Shepard go on a rampage as he tore apart the operatives. It was a massacre. Garrus was up against the wall watching this unfold, shaking.

Shepard made his approach to the scarred man. He tried firing shotgun rounds at the approaching monstrosity. John grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up. The scarred man tried one last attempt to extinguish Shepard's life by placing the shotgun directly at his face and fired. It was in vain.

John's other hand slowly waved upwards. The man's feet started to turn into ash. He screamed, begging for mercy. More and more of his body disintegrated. It was slow and painful. His screams finally stopped when Shepard's hands got to his mid-section. Finally all that was left of his body was a pile of ash.

VVVVVV

"John!" a voice yelled.

John became conscious and he realized his was in the abyss. "Wh-What?"

The Oracle was in front of him. "You need to regain control of yourself!"

"I-I can't, she's dead," he wept. "They took everything from me!"

"She's not dead yet, Tiven'Vian, but she and Garrus will die if you do not regain control. You hold the key to saving her life. If you love her you will fight your very nature!"

Shepard looked to the maelstrom of his nature swirl before him. "For her." He jumped into the vortex within in soul.

VVVVVV

The last of the operatives fell. Garrus still hasn't moved an inch. "Sh-Shepard," he mumbled.

The thing before him looked back at him. It moved to him, too fast for Garrus to move out of the way. Its left hand wrapped around his throat. Garrus' breathing was heavily restricted. The creature pulled his right arm back readying the death strike. It launched its hand forward. Garrus closed his eyes.

Several seconds passed which made Garrus open his eyes again. The strike was stopped, just an inch from his face. The being in front of him let go of his throat and stumbled backwards. It roared as it struggled against an unknown force. A burst of energy came from him.

It was Shepard again. Shaken, but it was him. Garrus saw the look in his eyes. Sadness and fear. Shepard went over to Tali's body. He crouched down and held her unconscious body in his arms, holding her against his chest. Tears drizzled from his eyes. "Tali. Tali. Tali." He opened a vacuumed-sealed pack from the side of his suit and pulled out an injector. "It's okay, Tali. It's going to be okay." He injected the needle into the exposed skin of Tali's stomach and activated the injector.

With that last effort, Shepard passed out and fell to the ground with Tali in his arms. Garrus rushed to them. "Spirits damn it!" Garrus activated his comm. "Joker do you read? We need immediate evac!"

"What happened?"

"I-I don't know."

VVVVVV

Tali's eyes opened to see she was in the Normandy's med-bay. Her stomach hurt a little. She looked down and saw that her suit had a large patch on the stomach that was held on using omni-gel. She panicked, sitting up quickly which only made her stomach hurt more.

"Tali!" Chakwas exclaimed while running to her. "You shouldn't sit up so fast. Especially after what happened."

"What happened?" she repeated. "What do you mean? All I remember was being held hostage by that Cerberus operative."

"The operative knocked you out and for some reason, cut your stomach."

Tali looked down at her stomach.

"According to Garrus, Shepard lost it after that happened. Took down the entire Cerberus squad. He then injected you with something."

"What?" Tali gasped.

"Tali..." Chakwas started. "Have you noticed that you don't have a fever after being cut across the stomach in an unclean environment?"

Tali's eyes widen. She just realized that she didn't feel hot at all. No itchy throat. No soreness. She was fine.

"I took a blood sample and found that the Commander injected you with some sort of nanomachines. These nanomachines seem to act as a secondary immune system while interacting with your immune system. I think they are making you immune system stronger. Tali... You can leave your suit."

That last line shocked Tali into silence. Leave her suit. The thought was something she thought she would never hear in her lifetime. "H-How did Shepard get-?"

"I have no idea. These nanomachines are beyond anything I have ever seen. The technology surpasses anything I have ever seen in medicine. Hell, these things make medi-gel look like a band-aid. I would go as far to say these things saved your life."

"Where is he? Where's Shepard?"

Chakwas nodded behind Tali. Tali looked back and saw Shepard lying on the med-bay table.

"John!" she cried out. Tali rushed to his side. "What happened?"

"John passed out after he injected you with the nanomachines. I looked at his brain activity and noticed it is similar to after he encountered the beacon on Eden Prime. Right now, we are just waiting for him to wake up."

"Mind if I stay here?"

"I need you here for observation, anyways, so of course. I found this in Shepard's room." Chakwas handed Tali was box with her name on it along with the phrase 'Happy Birthday'.

Tali opened the box and saw that inside was a Colossus suit. She started to choke and cry. "I-I would like to be along, please."

"Of course, dear."

VVVVVV

"You have done well, Tiven'Vian," the Oracle declared.

"That was a trial?" Shepard bellowed.

"I'm afraid so."

"I'll take all the punishment this galaxy can throw at me, but when it comes to her being harmed, that's over the line!"

"The trials you face ahead will test your very foundation and willpower. Overcoming your own nature was a stepping-stone to make you strong enough to face what the future holds. A future you do not have to face alone."

"I'm sorry?"

"Your Eli'Dimi. Tali'Zorah."

"I can't... She deserves someone better than me. You told me that I'm suppose to die, AGAIN, in my final trial and then come back after two years. Am I supposed to ask her to wait for me? I cannot put her through that pain. She deserves better."

"Maybe you should consider what she wants as oppose to what you think she deserves." The Oracle pointed Shepard to a portal that acted as a window. Through it he saw Tali sitting next to his unconscious body holding his hand. She was wearing the Colossus suit John was going to give to her for her birthday tomorrow. Shepard could hear Tali crying.

"I'm so sorry, Shepard. I shouldn't have gotten caught. I'm so sorry. You saved me, again. Like you've always done since we were kids. Always looking out for me. You're the best friend I ever had and it pains me to see you like this because you don't deserve this. You deserve so much. You're always giving and never asking for anything in return. Even now you have given me a new suit and now... Now thanks to whatever you injected me with, I can feel unfiltered air on my face. Actually feel something without a glove in the way. A-And I never admitted it, but you come to mean more to me than a friend. So much more. I-I love you."

Those words made Shepard's heart jump. He felt the Oracle's hand on his shoulder. "Stop denying how you feel and for once in your life, be happy."

"I just love you so much," Tali said through tears. She felt Shepard's hand tighten around hers.

Shepard's eyes opened and he said back sweetly, "I love you too, Tali."

Tali was speechless. So many emotions ran through her. Relief that he was okay, joy that he admitted the very thing she has longed for so long.

Shepard quickly got to his feet and stood before her. He looked her in the eyes and said it again, "I love you, Tali."

"John!" She wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his chest.

"I'm so sorry that I took so long to admit it to you," Shepard said.

"It's okay," she said through tears. Tali looked up at him and took a step back. She reached for his mask.

"Tali, wait," Shepard said.

"It's okay, John," she cooed. "Chakwas told me about the nanomachines. I-I want you to see my face. You're the only one I've wanted to see my face."

Shepard softly grabbed her hands. "And I do want to see your face, but there's something I need to tell you. I need to tell you who I am. I just... I want you to love me for me and not what you think I am. I just need you to hear me out, listen to the full story."

The resistance she gave his hands that were pulling her hands away from his face, gave away. "I'll listen, John."

"To the whole story?"

"To the whole story," she said with worry in her voice.

"Tali... I'm not a Human," he admitted.

Tali could have expected him to say many things, but this... She would never have guessed this was his confession. "What? If you're not a Human then what are you?"

"I'm an Artician. A race from a parallel universe."

"I-I don't know how to respond to that. All this time you were pretending to be someone you're not."

"Tali...I'm still me."

"Why did you not tell me this before?" There was anger in her voice.

"Because trillions could die."

Again Tali was struck speechless.

"Tali, an ability my race has is to be able to share memories. If you allow me, I can show you everything, if you still trust me."

Tali thought it over for a minute before offering her hands. She looked him in the eyes. Shepard's eyes glowed blue. There was a flash and Tali found herself in a dark area. There were no noticeable objects. Just darkness. She felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Shepard.

"Where are we?"

"We are in my mind."

"It's a bit empty."

"If I allowed all of my memories to come forth at once it could do serious harm to you. I will tell you the story of my life." A world appeared before them. It was a lush garden world with large oceans and the land masses were covered in greenery. There were storms all over the planet. "This was my homeworld: Artice. We evolved in a harsh environment. So we developed DNA that is in flux, making us extremely adaptable to our harsh environment. We also naturally evolved neural nodes that manipulate dark and alpha energy."

"Alpha?"

"It is another form of energy that exist alongside dark energy. As far as my people know, it existed before the universe did. It is partly responsible for the creation of everything. It is also partially responsible for the rapid expansion of the galaxy. When I glow green, that's me tapping into Alpha energy. It has more uses than dark energy such as manipulation of molecules and physical attributes. I can sue it to briefly make myself stronger. The downside of Alpha energy though is that you can easily become consumed by it if you are reckless. It takes years of training to use it responsibly. Over time we evolved to conquer our world and rapidly advance in technology. We had interstellar spaceflight without the use of Eezo, which doesn't exist in our galaxy."

"How is that even possible?"

"Our ships used two forms of travel. FTL and instantaneous. For FTL travel we have Alcubierre drives. It uses negative energy to create a warp bubble. This bubble contracts space in front of the ship while expanding it behind the ship. This causes the ship to ride a wave of space. It's roughly ten times faster than the fastest traveling ship in this galaxy."

"Keelah."

"Our second form of travel is creating temporary wormholes. Our ships fire what amounts to a negative energy bomb that briefly connects a folded space. This is how my kind overcame FTL travel. My civilization has existed for over fifty thousand years. Over that time we ran into other races. Rasitians, Praetorins, Rak'en, and Tia'zu. We also created one."

"Created?"

"Over a thousand years ago, my race was experimenting in automotive advancements and accidentally created AIs."

That sounded too eerily similar to her people.

"What did you do?"

"We had our own policies when it came to sentient life. The Exions, as we all have come to call them, fell into the category of sentient life and were granted status and a seat in our galactic government. They have been close allies of our since. I understand if that hits a little close to home."

"You think? Are you trying to say that what we did was wrong?"

"No," he replied matter-of-factly. "While we don't agree with the elimination of any sentient life, in this case your people were not one hundred percent that what you had was truly sentient or on the verge of sentience. The Geth were just further along than you ancestors first thought. There was also the matter of Council law that your people were trying to a bid to. No one blames your people for what happened. Not even the Exions. Your punishment is unjust. The vial I gave you is just one of the ways we wish to help your people. We have been working on fixing your people's immune system for the last 18 years. The vial I gave you was the finished product. We are now actively working towards having enough doses for your entire population and for future generations until your people have recovered."

"You mean my people will be freed from our suits."

Shepard placed a hand on her cheek and with a smile replied, "Yes."

Tali hugged him. "Th-Thank you. I'm sorry I got upset with you."

"I understand. This is a lot to take in."

"You said today that that Cerberus thing was just a part of the truth. What does Cerberus have to do with anything?"

The image of a wormhole appeared. A ship flew through; it was a Human. "Over twenty years ago, a wormhole opened up connecting our universe and galaxies. Cerberus agents were the first to find it. We interacted with one another. Learned from each other, but as it turned out they were doing experiments behind our backs. I was one of them. I was chosen as my people's Tiven'Vian."

"Tiven'Vian?"

"It comes from three words from my native language. Tivos meaning Defender. Via meaning Honor. Ano meaning Morality. Defender of Honor and Morality. A Tiven'Vian only appears in my family's bloodline."

"Your bloodline? How exactly is a Tiven'Vian is chosen?"

Shepard's sword Nemain appeared before them. "The crystal at the end of this weapon flashes when it is touched for the first time by a Tiven'Vian. This weapon was crafted over fifty thousand years ago by a man who allowed his body to act as a temporary vessel for the Oracle."

"Oracle?"

"She is a spirit that has acted as our people's guide four eons."

"Do you worship her?"

"No. We take in her advisement and council. She'll directly guide Tiven'Vian, which she has for me. Now I was chosen by the sword twenty five years ago. This was a horrifying day, because Tiven'Vians only appears when a cataclysm is over the horizon. Cerberus agents were interested in me, so they kidnapped my family and me. This caused a panic among my people."

"Because they took you, their Tiven'Vian?"

"That's not the only reason. My family. My family was the monarchy. Our people operated with a Constitutional Monarchy government. Technically I'm a Prince."

"Technically?"

"I-I'll get to that. Cerberus experimented on and tortured me for a year, before I was freed by my family's friend, Aether. By then it was too late. While I was held captive, Cerberus tried to reverse engineer a lot of our technology. One of which was our medical nanobot technology, like what I gave you. Usually it takes years for this tech to be adapted to another race. Cerberus didn't want to wait that long. They tried creating their own version which resulted in a glitch. This glitch spread into our medical nanobot network. This resulted in a techno-plague. Two trillion. Two trillion."

Several worlds appeared before them. Nighttime befell them. Lights around the worlds went out.

"That's how many died in one minute."

Tali loudly gasped.

"Usually we wait until someone is over a hundred before implanting them with the nanobots. To make sure their immune systems don't weaken. Close to two trillion were over a hundred years old. The plague didn't just kill them. It brought them back to life as an undead cannibal. People were eating each other. In this time... In this time... In this time, my race went extinct. I am the last of my species, Tali." Shepard couldn't hold back his tears.

Tali wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you."

"Did any other race go extinct?"

"No. Just mine."

"Why?"

"My race's greatest strength, was also our greatest weakness. My race is a very empathetic race. When we fall in love, there's a bond between us. We call our partner an Eli'Dimi. The closest translation this galaxy has is soul mate. The bond is to the point where if our Eli'Dimi dies, we die. If in an occasion where an Eli'Dimi is murdered, the other goes into a murderous rage as a natural form of vengeance. Their soul has basically left their body at this point so all that is left is a husk. That is how my specie died out so quickly. That is why I'm not really a Prince. I can't be a ruler of the dead."

"Am I your Eli'Dimi?"

"Yes. You are." He planted a kiss on her hand. "After I was freed thanks to Aether, I led the remainder of our forces to get to the main facility for the nanobots. It was a long five years, but we shut down the network and cleansed the network free of the glitch. Shortly after I met with the Galactic Order's Ministers and we chose to pursue Cerberus through the portal. I was to be an infiltrator. Find out everything I could about this galaxy. Whether Cerberus was representing their race or if they were acting alone. But that mission has changed. Partially. With the Reapers. My people have encountered them before."

"Wait if you have, then why not tell the Council, about everything?" Tali exclaimed.

"My people have been badly weakened by the plague Tali. Earth has a higher population than every race of my galaxy put together. We have been spending the last twenty years building our forces up so that we can stand and fight. We did debate whether to reveal ourselves to your galaxy, but after knowing what they did to your race, the Krogan and their views on AIs, we came to the conclusion that the chances of being subjugated by them is too high. They have also been people too willing to accept what is before them without asking what IT IS before them. After spending thousands of years on the Citadel, have they actually learned anything of the structure or its origins? Or the Keepers. Made it a crime to even examine them. Too willing to abide by status quo. So we keep quiet while we build and prepare. We can only hope to convince them of the Reaper threat before we have to reveal ourselves, and that day is coming."

"What did happen with the Reapers?"

"About a hundred Reaper ships entered our galaxy fifty thousand years ago. Each of them like the one that attacked Eden Prime. They were trying to wipe out the Rak'en. My race came to their defense in time. We lost a lot of ships, but we won out in the end, but... One of the Reapers escaped with information of our technology. The Reapers ships were encountered used some sort of rail gun weapon system, while we used Magnetic-Hydrodynamic weapons. Through our encounter, the Reapers might have gotten stronger due to our battle. We now build and prepare to protect this galaxy and ours. The Reapers are a threat to us all. That is my story."

Tali found herself back in the med-bay with Shepard standing before her. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you all this before. I love you, Tali. Can you ever forgive me for pretending to be someone else?"

Tali's hand cupped his cheek. "You are still the same friend I had throughout my entire life. The same person who defended my people's shelter on Mindoir. The same person who came to comfort me when my mother passed away. Please remove my mask."

Shepard reached for the sides of her helmet and looked for the helmet. Tali's subconsciously held his hands as instinct told her to stop the intruder from removing her mask. This the first time she would show her face to anyone. Would he find her beautiful? Would he still want her? The thoughts of doubt scared her. Tears came from her eyes which closed shut worried to see the look on Shepard's face. Please don't reject me.

A click was heard from the mask as it unlocked. Shepard pulled the mask away and finally saw the face of the woman he loves. He was speechless. She was beautiful. Her skin was a light aqua color with horizontal stripes along her nose and over her forehead. John would guess it went over her bald head. Her face was slender with shallow cheek bones. Tali's nose was very pointed and her lips were a dark aqua.

Shepard saw her tears run down her face. Her eyes were closed. He cupped her face with his hands and used his thumbs to wipe away her tears. "Tali," he cooed. "Please, let me see your eyes."

Tali slowly opened her eyes. Of all parts of her face, her eyes were wanted Shepard loved the most. Her irises were dark blue with silver pupils that reflected the light that shone upon them.

"You're beautiful."

"Y-You really think so?"

"Tali, of the hundreds of languages I know, I know of none that have the words to truly describe how beautiful you are and say it with any justice."

This made her smile. It was the kindest thing anyone has ever said to her. It meant a whole lot more coming from him. Shepard and Tali leaned forward and kissed. Her lips were very cool since Quarians have a lower body temperature. It was relaxing to Shepard. To Tali, Shepard's lips were fiery warm. It was surprising to her since the only thing she felt her whole life was a temperature regulated suit. It was different, but felt so good to her.

Their kiss grew more passionate. Tali's and Shepard's arms wrapped tighter around each other. Tali leaned forward causing Shepard to lean against the med-bay. They didn't want to stop. The sound of the med-bay door hiss caused them to stop immediately. Tali frantically grabbed her mask and quickly placed back on. There was Chakwas at the doorway with a smile from ear-to-ear.

"I see that you two are already taking advantage of Tali's freedom."

Tali blushed at the comment.

"Though in seriousness, Commander we need to talk about where you got that vial and this technology and-"

The door opened again revealing an angry Garrus. He walked right up to Shepard and punched him in the face.

"Garrus!" Tali screamed. "What the hell are you doing?"

"This bastard nearly killed me! You have a lot of question to answer Shepard! What the hell happened? What did that operative mean by calling you an Artician?"

Shepard looked to Tali. "The Cerberus operative already told him too much, he has to know the rest."

Tali nodded.

"What I'm about to tell you two, cannot leave this room."


	11. Lied

Chapter 9: Lied

Tali sat on the med-bay table waiting patiently while Shepard mind-melded with Garrus and Chakwas. It was slightly eerie to see his eyes glow along with Garrus and Chakwas. After a minute the glow dissipated with the three returning.

"If it means anything, I am truly sorry," Shepard said.

Garrus and Chakwas were speechless.

"There was one thing I neglected to mention to the three of you. Each Tiven'Vian undergoes Trials to make them strong enough for the cataclysm to which they must fight. I have completed all of my Trials except for one." Shepard gave Tali a sad look. "The Trial of Metamorphosis."

"Metamorphosis?" Tali said.

"The Trial requires a resurrection of... me."

"What?" she screamed.

Garrus and Chakwas jumped at her outburst.

"You have to die?" Tali was horribly upset.

"Only temporary, I promise," Shepard said. "The Oracle told me that I'll have a vision the night before my death. When it happens I'll be in a form of hibernation for two years, and then I'll come back."

"Two years," she choked. "You'll be gone for two years?"

"But I will come back. I will."

"Damn it, John," she cried. "You've finally told me how you feel about me, seen my face, gave me my first kiss, and now you're telling me you're going to die?"

John placed his hands on her arms and gripped gently. She was shaking. "Tali... I'm sorry for you to hear this, I really am. I don't want to go through the Trial, I don't want to leave you, but I have to, to ensure the survival of this galaxy, and you. Especially you. The last thing I want is to leave you or hurt you."

Tali rested her head to his chest, still crying.

"I-I wish to ask you something," he said, "and it'll be the most selfish thing I could ever ask of you."

Tali looked up into his eyes.

"W-Will you wait for me? Will you wait for me to come back?"

"Promise me," she demanded. "Promise me you'll come back."

"I promise you, Tali. I will come back and I'll never leave you again."

Tali embraced him. "I'll wait for you, John. Keelah, I'll wait for you."

"Thank you." He wrapped his arms around her.

Chakwas cleared her throat to get their attention.

"Oh, sorry," he apologized. "Are you two going to be okay?"

"I'm shocked to say the least, Commander," Chakwas replied. "What you've told us, it's a lot to... process. To find out that you aren't human or even from this galaxy, well, it's an even bigger discovery than the Citadel. I feel like I should be more upset, but after all the things you have done for Humanity and its image, it would be unfair to be. You may not be Human but you still strive to defend us and this galaxy, and that is noble regardless of race. You'll still have my support."

"It means a lot to hear that, Doc," Shepard said with a hint of positivity. His eyes went to Garrus.

Garrus stared at the floor while they talked. A mixture of emotions ran through him.

"Garrus?"

Garrus sighed and stood up. "I need some time to think," he said as he left the room.

"I don't think he's happy," Chakwas commented.

"I nearly killed him, so I don't blame him," Shepard said. He looked to Tali. "Could you talk with him later? I don't think he would want to see me for a bit."

"Sure," she answered. "Though answer me this John, what has become of your homeworld of Artice?"

A tear came from his eye. He pulled out his omni-tool and tapped a few buttons. A hologram of a planet that was half blue and half brown.

"The plague, while unable to infect my planet's, or any other planet's, fauna, the dead still ate. Every single species on my planet was killed. Without animals as a part of the ecosystem, Artice's plant life died out. My world is dead and I can never go back to it."

VVVVVV

Several hours have passed since Shepard, Wrex and Ashley went down to Feros to investigate the Geth attacks. Tali was finishing her work in Engineering. 'Enough time should have passed-by,' she thought to herself.

"Chief Adams, I'm going on break," Tali announced to him.

"Alright, Miss Zorah."

Tali walked out of Engineering into the Cargo Hold. With Wrex and Ash gone, and the Requisition Officer out for lunch, the area was empty except for Garrus who worked on the panel that stood next to where the Mako was kept. The empty room spooked Tali. Before getting on the Normandy, she has never seen a room of this size on a ship that was just... empty. She walked cautiously to Garrus.

"Garrus?"

His tapping on the console stopped. "What?" he growled.

"You're still upset."

"Of course I'm upset!" he roared while waving his arms in the air. "I nearly get killed by the Commander and then I find out he's been lying to us all this time. He lied to us! And frankly I'm surprised you're not as upset as me. You've known him for over fifteen years and all this time he has lied to you. Not only do you not hate him, but you love him. Why?"

"Because whether John hasn't been truthful about what he is, he never lied about who he is. You heard of the Mindoir raid?"

"I have, and Shepard played a role in stopping it or something."

"During that raid Shepard stayed at the shelter to defend us. We watched him on the monitor fight with nothing but his sword. This wasn't Shepard the Human or Shepard the Artician fighting. This was just John. We watched him on the security monitors give everything he had to save all of us inside the shelter. Two hundred Quarians, including me. Not many would realize this but this made Shepard extremely famous to our people. No one before Shepard has ever done anything to that level for our people. During that battle he sustained mortal injuries. I watched him die in my arms Garrus, only to come back thanks to, I assume, passing a trial. Even after all he did, he still volunteered at the center until he enlisted in the Alliance. Even then we stayed in contact. Eventually my mother passed away and Shepard took the leave to come see me and comfort. What I'm saying, Garrus, is this: John was always there for me. It doesn't matter to me that he's not Human. That doesn't change who he is or what he has done for me."

Garrus looked to the ground not sure what to make of it. He should be angry, but a lot of what she said was getting to him.

"Didn't he help you find that Doctor who butchered his assistants?"

"He did," Garrus replied. "Stopped me from killing the bastard. He wanted to bring the guy in, only to have the guy resist arrest and die anyways. I asked him what's the point and he answered me that, 'We can never know how someone acts, what matters is how you react. In the end, that's all that matters.' Really got me thinking about what I've been doing with myself. Who I am becoming." He let out a sigh.

"Was finding Saleon necessary to our mission?"

"No."

"That's what Shepard does. Whether he's Human or Artician doesn't change the fact that he helps the people around him."

Garrus leaned against his console. "All of this is just so... crazy. I didn't know parallel realities existed before yesterday. Adding on all the crap Shepard went through his life. I joined the military at age 15. Shepard had to lead an army at 5. I cannot even begin to imagine what's that's like. I-I think I can forgive him."

"That's good to hear."

"Though, might I ask why haven't you left your suit?"

"How do you think people will react to a Quarian who isn't in an environmental suit? Questions would be asked by the galaxy and my own people."

"So you're keeping quiet for Shepard's sake?" Garrus said with a hint of disapproval in his voice.

"I'm doing it for my people's sake! This is the closest my people have come to being free. Shepard is offering everything we have dreamed of. I'm not going to jeopardize that by indulging in my suit's freedom." And Tali said in a quiet mutter, "publically."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

Garrus raised a brow. He knew exactly what she said, but decided against pushing it. His thoughts turned to a more morbid topic. "How are you going to deal with his two year absence?"

Tali rubbed her arm. The thought really scared her. "I'll deal with it."

"You really are giving a lot to him."

"As he has for me Garrus. I love him and he loves me. It'll be tough to wait for him, but if it means we are together, that my people are free, I'll wait."

"Shepard is a lucky man to have you."

Tali gave a small chuckle and was about to continue when the VI announced, "Commanding officer aboard. XO Pressly stands relieved."

"Looks like he's back," Garrus said. "We should head to the debriefing room."

VVVVVV

Shepard explained the mission to the crew members who weren't on the planet. The Geth. Exongeni. The colonists. The Thorian. During his retelling, he would occasionally glance at Garrus, a slight worry in his eyes. What was obvious to the crew was that the Commander looked exhausted and worn out. His skin was slightly pale. John sat back down after going over the events of Feros.

"Commander, you look pale. Are you suffering any ill effects from the Cipher?" Liara asked.

"I'll be fine," he replied. "Just need to let the Cipher do its thing."

"I might be able to help you Commander," Liara said. "I'm an expert on the Protheans. If I join my consciousness with yours, maybe we can make some sense of it."

Tali's hands gripped her legs tightly at the suggestion. There was the possibility she could find out Shepard's secret. Tali could see a look of hesitation in Shepard.

"Alright, let's try it," he said reluctantly.

Shepard and Liara stood up and approached each other. "Relax, Commander," she said while closing her eyes. "Embrace eternity!" Her eyes shot open revealing them to be black.

The images of the beacon rushed through Shepard's head. Images of Protheans dying by the thousands. Flesh melting off of their bones. Experiments with machines. Screams of the dying.

Tali and Garrus leaned forward wondering what was happening between the two. They've been standing there for about ten seconds. Tali felt like it was going on too long. Without warning, Liara collapsed to the ground. "Oh, goddess!" She was hyperventilating.

Shepard didn't look too worse for wear. "Liara!" he said while crouching down to her. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, goddess," she repeated. "How are you even able to function with what weighs on your mind? Even glimpsing your consciousness was overwhelming. After all my research I never thought I would ever see- The vision was vivid. Intense. You are remarkable strong willed to burden everything that weighs on you."

"Get to the point," Ash said, losing her patience. "What did you see?"

"The beacon on Eden Prime must have been badly damaged. Large parts of the vision are- are missing. The data that transferred into the Commander's mind was... incomplete."

"Did you see anything of use from the vision?" Shepard asked while helping her to her feet.

"I was able to interpret the data relayed through your vision. But some of it was missing. Saren must have what is missing. Maybe he found another beacon. If we can find that missing data I can-" Liara stopped her sentence to groan a little. "I am sorry. The joining is exhausting and that door took a lot out of me."

"Door?" Kaidan asked out loud.

"The Commander had something of a door in his conscious, blocked out memories, maybe, and going near it caused extreme amounts of pain."

"You should go see Chakwas," Shepard said quickly to change the topic. "Rest of you dismissed."

Everyone but Tali and Garrus left the room. They watched Shepard speak with the Council. They were irritated at Velarn for accusing Shepard of saving the colonists solely because they were Humans. They still congratulated him for accomplishing his mission. Shepard turned around and saw the two standing there.

"Hey," he muttered.

"I've thought a lot," Garrus started, "and I even spoke to Tali. I forgive you and I understand why you did what you did."

"I'm glad to hear it, Garrus."

"So what does happen from here out?"

"We keep doing our job while the Guardians rebuild. Once to time comes, I will reveal everything to the Council and we can work together to defeat the Reapers."


	12. Last of a Kind

Chapter 10: Last of a Kind

In a mission that would involve Matriarch Benezia, Shepard brought the whole team with him. Matriarchs are some of the most powerful beings in the galaxy and Benezia had the loyalty of Asari Commadoes. If, nay when, they face her, Shepard wanted everyone he could have to fight.

The mission faced a little snag at first at the port with the Anoleis and his procedures. Shepard gave him full warning that delaying his investigation would have serious consequences. Anoleis played it off as a threat of physical violence which he threaten to bury Shepard under so much paperwork that he would never dig himself out.

Shepard did something worse. Through a small series of corporate espionage, Shepard got an undercover agent the evidence and witness she needed to put Anoleis behind bars for a long time. As Gianna hauled him out of his own office, Shepard said to him, "Should have given me that pass." A thought to haunt him as he spends years in white-collar prison.

While the roads were treacherous on the way to Peak 15, it was not more than they usually handled. Along the way his squad was laughing at the situation with Anoleis. After driving through the elements, they arrived at Peak 15. An APC was outside and was on fire.

"Looks like Benezia had some vehicle troubles," Garrus quipped.

"Come on," Shepard urged everyone to leave the tank.

Their shields were barely holding against the weather of Noveria. They hurried inside where they all removed their helmets. The garage door opened revealing a large storage room with several Geth and Krogan.

"Take cover!" Shepard ordered.

Tali, Garrus and Kaidan went to work at disabling the Geth. Wrex, Liara and Ash were raining fire at a Krogan to the side. John was taking shots at the Geth who had their shields drained thanks to his techs. The fight provided little trouble until they eliminated the ground force. A roar of a Krogan Battlemaster echoed in the area. The Battlemaster jumped over the railings on the left and landed with a thud.

He fired two carnage shots at his squad. They took cover while the Battlemaster charged. Shepard looked to his side and saw a tank of liquid nitrogen. John surrounded the tank with dark energy and flung it at the charging Krogan. The tank didn't slow him down, but the liquid nitrogen spread all over the Krogan. He began to slow down until he was right in front of Shepard, completely frozen. John pulled out his pistol and took aim. Bang! The Krogan statue shattered to pieces.

"No one-liner quip?" Garrus asked.

"Didn't want to ruin the moment," Shepard replied.

The squad followed him to the door. It opened. Two turrets were faced opposite of them.

"Why would they have the turrets facing the other direction?" Liara asked out loud.

"The company probably wanted to keep their employees inside as much as they wanted to keep intruders outside," Garrus replied.

John went into the room next to the hallway and tried accessing the console. Power was offline to the terminal. Just then he heard a scuttling in the vent. John walked over and peered into the vent. Something ran through causing him to draw his pistol. He could only get a glimpse of what ran through. It wasn't a Geth.

"You see something, Commander?" Ash asked.

"Something moved through the vent," he replied.

"Geth?"

"Not sure what it was. Come on to the elevator."

The group rode the elevator up several levels. The hall was filled with snow from an unknown breach in the walls. The second set of doors opened which alerted the Geth in the next room. It was a small group of Geth, around four. They were unable to return fire before Shepard's group eliminated them.

Once the last Geth fell, the squeal of metal echoed in the room. Something was coming. The squad formed a circle, waiting for what was to come. The metal then started to sound like growling.

"What is that?" Garrus asked out loud.

"Animals? Wind?" Ash suggested. "This place is in bad shape."

A large insect-like creature burst out of the vents. It was followed by a dozen small green insects.

"Take it down!" Shepard ordered.

The green insects exploded when they were shot. With them being in close proximity to each other, it caused a chain reaction. The larger insect was ripped to spreads from all of the micro-explosions.

"It's those same creatures from the Cerberus labs," Shepard observed.

"What are they doing here?" Kaidan asked.

"Could mean that it's here Cerberus got them or-" Ash said before Shepard finished her sentence.

"Cerberus is here."

Shepard's squad looked to him in concern.

"Our mission is to find and apprehend Benezia. Cerberus is secondary."

"Aye, aye," Ash responded.

VVVVVV

Benezia walked in an elegant manner towards the tank that contained the Rachni Queen. She was dark purple and was easily three times the size of any of her subjects. Her followers were extremely nervous in presence of the behemoth.

"My Lady, is it... safe to mind meld with her?" one of them asked.

Benezia stroked the glass of the tank. She looked the Rachni Queen and smirked. "Yes, it will be safe."

"Lady Benezia!" a follower yelled while running into the room. "I have just received reports of Shepard's team. They are on their way here!"

Benezia sighed quietly. "Send word to our infiltrator at the medical station. She is to be ordered to take him down."

"Yes, my Lady." The follower went back to her station to relay the orders.

"The rest of you, return to your stations and prepare for his arrival, if he survives the assassination."

They nodded and walked away.

Benezia looked back to the Queen. "Your children were supposed to be the soldiers in Saren's grand army. While the project was a failure, you still may provide us with assistance. Your race knew the location of the Mu relay, which is necessary to find the Conduit which will save us all."

The Rachni Queen backed away from the Asari Matriarch, mostly in due part to fear.

"Relax, your majesty. Embrace eternity!"

VVVVVV

Shepard and his group were close to the lab where the Doctor Cohen said the cure could be made in. There was a Volus standing there by himself. He turned around to face the squad. "Hello," he said in a very monotonous voice. "You're here for Benezia, I suppose."

"Yes, we are," Shepard replied. "Are you a survivor from the Hot Labs?"

"Somewhat," he replied. "A part of me died there though. My colleague and I were just going on our lunch when the alarms and they came. We rushed to the tram. I-I killed her."

This was a shock to the team.

"I got on the tram and closed the door behind me. I watched her head explode like a melon."

"Do you know what these creatures are?"

"The Rachni?"

"Rachni!" Wrex bellowed. "Impossible! They're extinct."

"Where did you find Rachni?" Shepard asked.

"We discovered a derelict Rachni vessel and inside was an egg. At first we wanted to clone the Rachni, but as it turned out, the egg hatched into a Queen."

"That's unsettling. Come team, we need to get that cure."

The machine to generate the cure was straight forward. It was mostly automotive, leaving just the task of timing the injection sequence. The canister of purple liquid emerged from the machine.

"I'm afraid this is as far as you go, Shepard," the Asari agent declared. She had several Geth soldiers standing around her. "You have been an annoyance to Lady Benezia, but your ti-"

Shepard didn't give her a chance to finish when he sent a shockwave at her. They were sent backwards. His squad mates took the opportunity to finish off the Asari and the Geth.

"You probably could have let her finish her speech, Commander," Ash pointed out.

"If my enemy is going to give some speech about doing evil things, I'm not going to give them the time. Come, let's get this cure to the Doctor so we can reach Benezia."

VVVVVV

Benezia added the information of the Mu relay location on her OSD and also sent off the data to Saren.

"Have you finished, my Lady?" one of her followers asked.

"Yes, I have," she replied.

"Then we should leave before Shepard get here-"

"I will not leave!" she bellowed. Her subordinate took a step back from the outburst. "Saren would want Shepard dealt with. We will wait for him here."

"Yes, my Lady. What about the Queen?"

Benezia looked back at the Rachni Queen. "She is of no further use to us. Now go and get the others. Shepard will be here soon."

The follower wasted no time and left the room. As soon as she did, the other door opened revealing Shepard and his crew. Right on time.

Shepard and his company entered the chamber room and saw Benezia looking into the tank of the Rachni Queen.

"You do not know the privilege of being a mother," Benezia said while turning to face Shepard. "There is power in creation. To shape a life. Turn it towards happiness or despair." Benezia glanced at the Queen. "Her children were to be ours. Raised to hunt and slay Saren's enemies." Benezia's eyes were drawn to Liara. "I won't be moved by sympathy. No matter who you bring into this confrontation."

"Liara is here of her own accord," Shepard said to her.

"Indeed... What have you told him about me, Liara?"

"What could I say, mother?" Liara yelled at her. "That you're insane? Evil? Should I explain how to kill you? What could I say?"

"Have you ever faced an Asari commando unit before, Commander? Few humans have."

"You would kill your own daughter?" Shepard asked in disbelief.

"I now realize I should have been stricter with you." Benezia casted stasis on Shepard freezing him in place.

"John!" Tali yelled. She tried to move to him, but Garrus stopped her. "Let me go!"

"We need to get to cover!" Garrus yelled at her.

The squad tried taking cover on the right of the room. Benezia charged up a warp in her hand as she approached Shepard's frozen body.

Tali felt tears run down her cheeks. He didn't say anything of a vision. He didn't say. She tried struggling against Garrus, but it was to no avail.

Benezia was ready to strike, but then she noticed an odd distortion in the stasis energy. Before she knew what was happening, a shockwave emanated from Shepard. The stasis broke apart and Benezia was sent flying backwards. The doors in the back of the room opened up releasing Asari Commandoes and Geth.

Shepard looked to his team and ordered, "Stick to the right and take out the Commandoes and Geth. I'll take on Benezia!"

His squad took cover in preparation for the waves of soldiers. Shepard spotted Benezia get to her feet.

"Taking on an Asari Matriarch?" she said. "Very fool-hardy. Your kind has not reached the potential that my kind has achieved."

Energy surrounded Shepard's body. "Well, I'm full of surprises." He biotically charged forward and impacted Benezia. Her barrier held out enough to stop her from flying back.

Benezia counter-attacked with a biotic warp. Shepard created a circular barrier wall, which was about a foot across, to block the warp. Benezia's attack was putting the pressure on his defense. Shepard shoved his arms forward making Benezia recoil.

The rest of the squad fought with everything they could muster. They were facing off against waves of Asari commandoes and Geth. Not the easiest task in the galaxy. Even in the midst of the battle, they couldn't help but grab a glimpse of the biotic showdown on the other side of the room. To see Shepard take on Benezia as an equal in biotics only showed them just how powerful he is.

Garrus noticed Tali constantly checking on Shepard.

"He'll be fine," Garrus said to reassure her. "He's faced off against Thresher Maws, Krogans, Slavers and Geth. He'll be able to handle a Matriarch."

Tali couldn't say anything. She wanted to be there and help Shepard fight, but a fight against a Matriarch is nigh-impossible for a non-biotic.

'Keelah watch over.'

Benezia stabilized her footing and sued a throw force. Shepard charged forward. His right arm coated in dark energy to smack the throw force towards the left side of the room. The biotic throw cracked the glass wall. Benezia was almost petrified to see a human direct her attack. Too petrified to defend herself when he closed in.

John moved in and used throw to slam Benezia into the wall on the left. She cried out from the impact. His dark energy still surrounded her. The Matriarch tried struggling, but the energy held her down.

"This fight ends now," he declared.

Shepard pulled back sending Benezia towards the Rachni tank. As she flew over, John launched a warp at her. The warp detonated the dark energy that surrounded her body. It increased the speed of the throw. Benezia slammed against the Rachni tank. Blood dripped out from her mouth.

The rest of Shepard's squad regrouped on his position. They noticed Shepard breathing heavily, exhausted from the biotic duel. John took a breath and calmed his respiration.

"It's over, Benezia."

"This is not over," she said as she stood up. "Saren is unstoppable. My mind is filled with his light. Everything is clear."

At this point she didn't sound coherent to the team. Almost deluded.

"The Rachni didn't cooperate with you, why should I?"

Benezia looked back at him and then away. "I will not betray him. You will-" she stopped herself and leaned against the terminal station in front of the Rachni tank. "You-" Benezia pushed herself off of the terminal. "You must listen. Saren still whispers in my mind. I can fight his compulsion briefly, but the indoctrination is strong."

"Shiala mentioned indoctrination."

"You don't know what's it's like to be beating on the glass wall as you watch yourself torturing and killing," she said as she approached. "All because of the indoctrination. People are not themselves around Saren."

The squad raised their weapons. Shepard signaled to lower them. They reluctantly did, save for Tali. It took a look that said "I know what I'm doing" before she lowered her shotgun.

"You come to idolize him. Worship him. You would do anything for him. The key is Sovereign, his flagship. It is a dreadnaught of incredible size and its power is extraordinary."

"Where did he get that ship?"

"I don't know. All I do know is that it is not a Geth creation. The ship exerts a force on you. Over time Saren's views become more correct. You sit at his feet and smile as his words pour into you. It is subtle at first. I thought I was strong enough to resist instead I became a willing tool eager to serve. He sent me here to find the location of the Mu relay. Its position was lost thousands of years ago."

"Someone on Noveria found-" Shepard eyes went to the Queen. "She did."

"Yes," she replied. "Two thousand years ago, the Rachni inhabited that region of the galaxy. They discovered the relay. The Rachni can share memories across generations. Queens inherit the knowledge of their mothers. I took the location from the Queen's mind." She add as a further note of regret. "I was not gentle."

"Why does Saren need the Mu relay?"

"He believes it will lead him to the Conduit. I would tell you more if I could, but Saren did not share his council with me. I was merely a servant to his cause."

"You can still make it right. Give me the information."

"I was not myself. I should have been stronger." Benezia approached him.

Tali grew more fearful of the Matriarch being so near Shepard.

"I transcribed the location on this OSD. Take it. Please!"

"Knowing the relay's coordinates is not enough," Liara said. "Do you know where he was to go from there?"

"Saren wouldn't tell me the destination. But you must find out quickly. I transmitted the information to him before you arrived. You have to stop me-! I ca- I can't-" She was losing control over her will. "His teeth are at my ear! Fingers on my spine! You should- You shoulda-" She screamed. "You should-!"

"Mother!" Liara cried out to her. "I- Don't leave! Fight him!"

Benezia looked to Liara. "You've always made me proud, Liara." She turned away and then turned around to face them. "Die!"

Before anyone could react, Shepard became a blur. At one instance he was in front of the group. The next, he was right in front of Benezia. She gasped and looked down. John had Nemain impaled through her abdomen. She stumbled back unsheathing the blade from her body. Blood pour from her wound. Benezia fell to her knees holding her stomach.

"I-I cannot go on," she said. "You will have to stop him, Shepard."

"Hold on, we have medi-gel!" Shepard tried to offer. "Maybe we can-"

"No!" she refused. "He is still in my mind. I'm not entirely myself. I will never be myself again." She pushed herself against the glass tank.

"Mother..." Liara muttered.

"Good night, Little Wing. I will see you again with the dawn. No light." There was slight panic in her voice. "They always said there would be a light."

"There is darkness before the light," Shepard whispered to her. "Rest now."

Benezia passed away in front of them.

"Mother!" Liara rushed to Benezia and cradle her in her arms. She cried heavily.

Shepard crouched down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry." As a sign of respect, he said, "Goddess, accept her into your arms and allow her to find her peace."

Liara looked up at him with sad, tear-filled eyes and said, "Thank you." She rested her mother's body on the ground and got to her feet, still sobbing. Shepard walked her over to the rest of the group. His squad tried counseling her in her grief.

Shepard looked back to the Queen and started to approach her. Shepard reached the tank and peered in.

'What am I going to do with you?' he wondered. 'Your race started a war with the galaxy and the Krogan were used to wipe you out just to stop you. But you're the last of your kind.'

The Rachni Queen turned and roared at him. It made Shepard jumped back only to bump into one of the Asari commandoes that was killed. He drew his pistol and aimed at her. Something was different about her. She sluggishly walked like she was sleep walking. The Asari walked to the tank and turned around.

"This one serves as our voice," the Asari said in an odd voice. There was a slight tune to her voice. "We cannot sing. Not in these low spaces. Your musics are colourless."

"Musics?" Shepard muttered.

"Your way of communicating is strange. Flat. It does not colour the air. Well, your friends' music does not move the air. Your... voice. I can see colour in it. When we speak, one moves all."

"This will be a fun conversation," Ash joked.

"We are the Mother," the Queen declared.

Shepard approached the tank.

"We sing for those left behind. The children you thought silenced. We are Rachni."

"How are you speaking through her?" Shepard asked.

"Our kind sing through touching of thought. We pluck the strings and the other understands. She is weak. She has colours we have no names for. But she is ending. Her music is bitter-sweet. You are not in harmony with those ones who wish to control us. They took our children away from us before they could sing and act out violently."

"Makes sense," Kaidan commented. "Lock a kid in a closet till they're 16, they are not likely to come out right."

"They cannot be saved. Sadly they must be put down."

"They cannot be saved, and I ask you to put them down."

"If you're sure that they cannot be saved."

"It is... lamentable, but it must be done. Before you go... We stand before you. What will you sing? Will you free us? Or are we to fade away once more?"

Tali realized that the Queen was standing before him, asking for a second chance to exist. She read the history of the Rachni war. The Salarians had to uplift the Krogan just to win the war, but the Krogan completely wiped out the Rachni. Though from what history said, the Rachni wouldn't stop fighting. But was it right to wipe them out?

Here before her were the last members of their species. One had their specie was wiped out because of their refusal to surrender. The other because of the apathy and incompetence of a Human-supremist organization. There was an awe of the understanding Shepard could give the Queen.

The only difference between their futures was the Queen had a chance to repopulate her specie, whereas Shepard's race is truly gone once he dies.

"Are you a survivor of your race, or a clone?"

"We do not know. We were only an egg hearing mother cry in our dreams. A tone from space hushed one voice after another. It forced the singers to resonate with its own sour yellow note. Then we awoke in this place. The last echo of those who came out from the Singing Planet. The sky is silent."

"If I let you out are you going to try to take revenge on the galaxy?"

"N-No!" the Asari conduit said. "We do not know what happened during the war. We only heard dissonance songs the colour of oily shadows. We will go into hiding and teach our children peace and harmony. Maybe once they understand, then we may return."

"Millions of my kind died trying to wipe them out, Shepard," Wrex mumbled. "Use the acid tanks. That's all I'm going to say."

"No!" Liara pleaded. "The Council went too far. They deserve a second chance!"

"Your companions hear the truth. You have the power to free us or return us to the silence of memory."

The squad members' eyes fell to Shepard. He was quiet for a moment. Reflecting on the situation. He knew exactly what would happen if they turned the Queen over to the Council based on their history. The Queen will either be killed or held in indefinite confinement (with her eggs destroyed whenever laid). But the Rachni did go to war with the galaxy. Was it their choice?

She mentioned a sour yellow note. Does it have anything to do with the Reapers? Did the Reapers indoctrinate them or stopped their ability to communicate? The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. The workers they ran into were rabid from not knowing how to "sing". What would happen if they were all unable to sing?

John compared the situation to a whole race suddenly being struck blind. Chaos would erupt. The choice before him was clear.

"Alright, I'll free you."

"You can't be serious, Shepard!" Wrex roared. "Millions of my race died to end the Rachni war."

"I'd have to agree with Wrex," Ash said. "They tried to wipe out the galaxy."

"The only crime this Rachni committed is existence," Shepard said to his crew. "We cannot punish the children for the sins of the parents."

"You will give us the chance to compose anew?" the Queen asked in amazement. "We will remember. We will sing of your forgiveness to our children."

"Great!" Wrex said sarcastically. "Bugs are writing songs about you. Mark my words. You will regret this."

Shepard approached the terminal and pushed in the command to release the Queen into the Wilds. The Queen looked to Shepard before exiting. Even if he was unable to understand her song, the gesture was obvious.

'Farewell and thank you.'

VVVVVV

Several Days Later...

Everyone on the ship was uncomfortable with what transpired on Noveria. The Council was especially displeased with Shepard and his decision. Tali, Garrus and Chakwas knew the real reason Shepard freed the Queen. Deep down, he saw himself in the insect mother.

Very shortly after the mission on Noveria, Shepard was contacted by Admiral Hackett. He requested assistance against a Geth Incursion in the Armstrong Nebula. The battles were intense, but ending the incursion stopped the Geth from attaining a foothold in the region. It was at the last base Shepard found something that unsettled him. Terabytes of Geth data and their evolution. The data was priceless. It would be the perfect Pilgrimage gift.

Fate is so god damn cruel. It seems Fate deems Shepard unworthy of happiness. His family is taken from him. His race annihilated. And now for the first time in his life, the one person who made him happy will be bound by duty to return to her people.

Shepard sat on the foot of his bed with the OSD in his hand. His doors opened and Tali walked in.

"You called for me," she asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "Please sit down."

Tali walked over to him and sat down.

"As you know, Garrus, Wrex and I sent the last several days clearing out Geth outposts in the Armstrong Nebula," he stated. "We eventually got to the Geth command centre. There I discovered a large cache of data."

Tali gasped. She now knew what he was going to say.

"I downloaded it all to this OSD and sent a copy to the Alliance. I-It would make a good Pilgrimage gift."

Shepard held the OSD out. Tali shakily grabbed it and put it away in one of her pockets.

John could hear her choking on tears. "Tali?" She didn't reply. He reached for the sides of her helmet and released the mask. Tears were running down her cheeks. "Tali..."

Tali embraced him and rest her head on her chest, hiding her face from him. "Why did you have to show me this?"

Shepard wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Because it would have been selfish of me not to, and you would hate me for that."

"But with this, I'm obligated to return to the fleet after I see this mission through."

"I know."

"I just don't know what I'm supposed to do. I-I love you, but I also love my people. And this data is invaluable to them."

"It's your decision, Tali," John said to her, "but know this. I will still love you and continue to support you no matter what your decision is. And I don't want you to think of this situation as an either/or choice. I would never isolate you from your people. I-If you stay, I would be able to take you back to your fleet whenever you felt even a little bit homesick. But like I said, no matter what your decision is, I will continue to support you. Your people will have the nanites and the Guardians will do everything in our power to get your homeworld back."

"W-What would happen to you if I leave? You said that your life essence is tied to me."

"I would live on, but Tali I don't want you to make this choice depend on my happiness or well being. The only thing that truly matters to me... The only thing that will ever matter to me is that you're happy."

"I would disappoint my people if I stayed on this ship after completing my Pilgrimage. But you've always made me feel so happy. So loved. You've done more for my people than anyone has in hundreds of years, and you promise so much more."

"Tali, you don't need to have to answer right now," he said to calm her. "Considering how things might go, with the Reapers, Saren and everything, it might not matter. Let's just be happy."

"Thank you." Tali looked up at Shepard. He leaned forward and kissed her. Even after all the times they've kissed, she couldn't get over how warm his lips were.

John wiped her tears away. They continued kissing as Shepard slowly leaned their bodies against the bed. They lay onto the pillows. Tali was unfazed by the position they were in. Their kiss finally broke. They were both breathing deeply.

"Please forgive me if I'm a little... forward," he said nervously, "but would you like to sleep here tonight?"

Tali flashed him a beautiful smile. "I would like that."

As soon as she answered, Shepard rushed to move them under the sheets. Tali let out a small giggle. They were under the two sheets. Tali pressed herself against his chest. Shepard wrapped an arm around her waist. He planted a kiss on her forehead. Tali tucked her head under his chin and kissed the base of his neck which caused him to moan a little.

"Good night, my love," he cooed.

"Good night, John."


	13. I'm Sorry

Chapter 11: I'm Sorry

Things were quiet between Shepard and Tali the day following the Pilgrimage gift. It was almost a relief when the Council contacted Shepard with a new lead on Saren. Virmire. A beautiful planet covered in seas and lush archipelagoes. This was where Saren's base was located. A Salarian STG team was sent here but was unable to send a clear message back. Upon arriving just showed just how bad the situation was.

The Salarians were trying to call for an armada. Saren found a cure for the genophage so he could breed an army of brainwashed Krogan. Even though Shepard believed the Krogan should be cured of the genophage, but in Saren's possession, it was a weapon of unparalleled power. A weapon that must be destroyed.

Wrex disagreed. Threatening violence if they destroyed the cure. For the mission to proceed, Shepard would have to speak with him. Calm him down. And that's where he finds himself, dreading speaking to the Krogan Battlemaster and convincing him to destroy the cure to the plague that inflicted his people for centuries.

Wrex was rightfully pissed off. He took out his shotgun and fired a round into the water. Its roar echoed throughout the area. The feel of the area was tense.

"This isn't right Shepard!" he bellowed. "If there is a cure for the genophage, we can't destroy it."

"I know you're upset, but we both know Saren's the enemy here."

"Really?" he remarked. "Saren created a cure for my people. You want to destroy it. Help me out here, Shepard. The line between friend and foe are getting a little blurry."

"This isn't a cure!" Shepard argued. "It's a weapon! And if Saren is allowed to used it, you won't be around to reap the benefits. None of us will."

"That's a chance we should be willing to take. This is the fate of my entire people we are talking about here, Shepard! I've been loyal to you so far. Hell, you've done more for me than my family ever has, but if I keep following you, I need to know that we are doing this for the right reasons." Wrex pulled out his weapon and aimed at Shepard.

This caused the soldiers in the area to tense up. They didn't really know what to do. Ash who was keeping an eye on them with her scope of her weapon. The situation was expected to become violent. No one expected what came next. Shepard, instead of pulling out his weapon, took a step forward allowing the shotgun barrel to press up against his chest. Too close for the shields to protect him.

"Are you insane?" Wrex said.

"I don't point weapons at my friends, Wrex. These aren't your people. They're slaves of Saren! Tools! Is that what you want for them? Your race was tools for the Council once, and they thanked you for winning the Rachni war by sterilizing your race! You think Saren will treat your people any better?"

Wrex stared him in the eyes. Thinking over what he said. In an action that calmed everyone in the area, Wrex lowered his weapon. "Y-You're right. You've made your point. I don't like this but I trust you enough to follow your lead. Just one thing; when we find Saren, I want his head."

"Thank you, Wrex," Shepard said.

He started to walk away but Wrex had one last thing to say.

"Oh, Shepard."

John looked back.

"It took a quad to do what you just did. I rarely see that type of bravery, even among my own people. Just saying you have my respect."

Shepard was walking to the camp when he felt a smack across the back of his head. He looked back and saw a pissed-off Ash. "What the hell were you thinking?" she yelled.

"I wasn't about to pull a weapon on him, Williams," he replied. "Wrex is reasonable."

"He pulled out a weapon on you."

"Because he felt like we were betraying him and his people. Would you honestly act any differently if you were in his position?"

"I guess not, but that was a huge chance you took with him and the shotgun. He would have killed you if he pulled the trigger."

"I was confident I could reason with him."

"With all due respect, sir, that was too much of a risk. You're just damn lucky that Tali didn't see what you did. She probably would have killed you."

Shepard sighed. "That she would. Let's just move on. It looks like the Salarian Captain has a plan."

VVVVVV

An assault team and an infiltration team. That was the plan. Kirahe's group was split into three squads that would attack the front of the fortress. To further add to his plan, Ash was sent with them for assistance. Kaidan was in charge of setting the bomb that would be placed inside the breeding facility. He was a Sentinel with technical training so it made sense to have him set the bomb up. Liara and Wrex stayed behind on the Normandy. Liara was still emotionally distraught over her mother's death and Shepard didn't want to bring her into battle right after what she had been through.

Wrex was oppose to staying on the Normandy but was convinced to stay aboard since he would be needed to help drop the bomb off at Kaidan's location. This left Shepard with Garrus and Tali in his squad.

Despite the odds, the attack was going exactly as planned. The majority of the Geth were fighting the Salarian group while Shepard's team moved in through the back. Along the way to the facility, they sabotaged the Geth to make things easier for the Salarian group.

The fight was brutal. Variety of Geth, Krogan and Indoctrinated Salarians stood in their way to the control terminal they needed to shut down. The three worked together with great unity. Tali took care of any Geth resistance and Garrus finished them off with long range sniper attacks. Shepard would use pull frequently to make the gun fight easier for Garrus and Tali.

Their infiltration eventually brought them to an office where an Asari was cowering.

"Please don't shoot!" she begged. "Please, I just want to get out of here before it's too late."

"I'm not going to hurt you," Shepard assured her. "Who are you?"

"Rana Thanoptis," she answered. "Neurospecialist. But this job isn't worth dying over. Or worse. You think the Indoctrination only affects prisoners? Sooner or later, Sare will want to dissect my brain, too!"

"Wait, I thought this facility was for breeding Saren's Krogan army."

"Not this level. We're studying Sovereign's effect on organic minds. At least, that's what I assumed. Saren kept us in the dark as much as possible."

"You helped him and you don't even know why?" Garrus exclaimed.

"I didn't have the option of negotiating," she defended herself. "This position is a little more... permanent than I expected. But I can help you. This elevator behind me goes to Saren's private lab. I can get you in." Rana walked over to the access panel next to the elevator and entered in a code. She walked back over to Shepard. "See? Full access. All of Saren's private files. Are we good? Can I go?"

"I'm go to blow this place to hell and gone," Shepard replied. "If you want to make it out alive, you might want to start running."

"What?" she gasped. "You can't... but I'll never... ahh!" Rana went into full sprint out of the room.

"You enjoyed that," Tali joked.

They went through the door which opened to a short walkway. They walked across and entered the elevator. It took a few moments for the elevator to reach the top. For Saren's private lab, it was fairly small. It was two levels, with a platform that stretches out over the second. On the second level they saw the beacon.

"Look Commander," Garrus pointed out. "It's another beacon, just like the one you mentioned about on Eden Prime."

Shepard turned to them. "Both of you stay here. I don't want this beacon harming either of you."

The two nodded. Shepard walked towards the beacon. This device had a holographic display, unlike the one on Eden Prime. Based purely on guess work, Shepard touched the display and turned a couple of dials. Energy burst from the beacon and lifted him off of the ground. Tali glanced away not to watch.

Images flew through Shepard's head. It was clearer though. It was also less strain. The message cut out and dropped Shepard to the ground. He struggled to get to his feet.

"You alright, Shepard?" Garrus asked.

"I'm good," he groaned. "We should head to the AAtower..." Shepard quieted as he looked up. Garrus and Tali looked up as well. Red displays appeared in front of the platform. It warranted a look.

They walked up to the second level of the room and approached the display. A holographic representation of Sovereign appeared before them.

"This does not look good," Garrus muttered.

"You are not Saren," it declared in a deep, mechanical tone. Its voice seem to send shivers down Shepard's spine. It was... unnatural.

"Is this some kind of VI interface?"

"Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood. You touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding."

"I don't think this is a VI," Tali said.

"There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign!"

"Sovereign isn't some Reaper ship that Saren found," Shepard concluded. "It's an actual Reaper!"

"Reaper? A label created by the Protheans to give voice to their destruction. In the end, what they choose to call us is irrelevant. We simply are."

"Protheans vanished 50,000 years ago," Garrus argued. "There is no way a ship could last that long!"

"Garrus," Shepard said. "These aren't regular ships."

"Organic life is nothing but a genetic mutation, an accident. Your lives are measured in years and decades. You wither and die. We are eternal. The pinnacle of evolution and existence. Before us, you are nothing. Your extinction is inevitable. We are the end of everything."

"There is an entire galaxy of races united and ready to face you."

"Confidence born of ignorance. The cycle cannot be broken."

"Cycle? What cycle?" Tali asked it.

"The pattern has repeated itself more times than you can fathom. Organic civilizations rise, evolve, advance. And at the apex of their glory, they are extinguished. The Protheans were not the first. They did not create the Citadel. They did not forge the mass relays. They merely found them, the legacy of my kind."

Shepard was genuinely confused by that confession. "Why would you construct the mass relays, then leave them for someone else to find?"

"Your civilization is based on the technology of the mass relays. By using it, your society develops along the paths we desire. We impose order on the chaos of organic evolution. You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it."

It made sense. Also explains how the Reapers were always winning. The races that ever developed in this galaxy always relied on the relays for technology. And because of it, they've always developed in basically the same general direction as any race before it. The races never develop faster than what the Reapers could predict.

But this is different for Shepard's galaxy. They didn't have mass relays or element zero to achieve FTL travel. All of his galaxy's technology is based on their own knowledge and experiments. Both galaxies may still have a chance.

"They're harvesting us!" Tali gasped in terror. "Letting us advance to the level they need, then wiping us out."

"How many left are there of you kind?" Shepard asked. He knows that his galaxy fought and won against them before. With heavy costs. But what if that wasn't even an attack fleet. What if that was just simple scouts.

"We are legion," it answered. "The time of our arrival is coming. Our numbers will darken the sky of every world. You cannot escape your doom."

"Where did you come from? Who built you?" It's a machine, so it had to have been created by something, someone.

"We have no beginning. We have no end. We are infinite. Millions of years after your civilization has been eradicated and forgotten, we will endure."

"What do you want from us? Slaves? Resources?"

"My kind transcends your very understanding. We are each a nation. Independent, free of all weakness. You cannot even grasp the nature of our existence."

"You're nothing but an aging warship. And ships can be destroyed!" Shepard roared.

"Your words are as empty as your future. I am the Vanugard of your destruction."

'Vanguard?' Shepard thought. The lone Reaper that got away! This was it. Shepard tensed up in anger, knowing that this was the monster that attacked his galaxy 50000 years ago.

"This exchange is-" An alarm went off in the room. Several red panels appeared between Sovereign and Shepard's squad. "Alpha Energy detected? Impossible. No creature in existence, or ever existed, that possesses..." Sovereign trailed off to process that thought. "Artician!"

"You know what I am?"

"The race that killed many 50000 years ago."

"Your kind attacked my galaxy and threatened the Rak'en with genocide. The Articians were not going to stand by and allow you to do that!"

"Your species and every species in your galaxy will face the same fate as every race in this realm of reality."

"We nearly annihilated your entire fleet when you attacked! How do you expect to face us now?"

"While many were lost in the fight, we still attained victory. Your technology. We have become more powerful because of it."

"This isn't a war you're going to win, Sovereign." Shepard walked towards the hologram. "You and your kind are not just facing off against this galaxy. You're going to war against two realities! Two Galaxies! When your fleet comes, the races of my galaxy will join forces with this galaxy. We will fight and defend this galaxy with our lives. As the Tiven'Vian of this age, I will lead us to victory and your reign will end."

"Foolish organic cretin," it said in its mechanical monotone voice. "We are many. We are unstoppable. The cycle will not be broken."

The hologram blinked out. Right after an explosion went off which shattered the windows of the lab.

"Commander?" Joker called out over the comm. "We got trouble!"

"Hit me, Joker."

"That ship, Sovereign? It's moving. I don't know what you did down there, but that thing just pulled a turn that would shear most ships in half. It's coming your way and it's coming hard! You need to wrap things down there fast!"

"Where to from here, Shepard?" Garrus asked.

"We head to the breeding facility," Shepard answered. "Joker can pick us up after we set the nuke."

The group went back into the elevator. There were still stunned from the conversation.

"S-So the Reapers remember your race," Tali said.

"Yeah," Shepard said. "My race destroyed at least a hundred of them, so they should remember us."

"But Sovereign said they took your technology," Garrus muttered.

They exited the elevator and moved towards the AA tower's control terminal location.

"One Reaper escaped from the war," he replied. "We couldn't translate its language properly so all we could tell was that it called itself, 'a Vanguard.' Sovereign. That was the one who escaped. With it was a lot of our technology."

"So the Reapers may be even more powerful because of their interaction with your galaxy," Tali pointed out.

Shepard pulled two Geth over the railing next to them. He used slam to send them straight towards the ground. "Yes. But it's not like my galaxy's technology had just stood at a standstill for the last 50000 years. We've grown stronger."

Garrus and Tali moved methodically using overloads to disable or stun any Geth that got in their way.

"So what did happen during the war?" Garrus asked as he sniped a Hopper Geth that was clinging to the foundation of the fortress wall.

Shepard lifted two explosive tanks biotically and flung them towards some drones flying towards them.

"About a hundred of the Reapers appeared over the Rak'en homeworld. The Articians were alerted to the situation when one of our probes detected the massive energy signature. Our fleet made haste to the Rak'en homeworld to save them from extinction. By the time we got there, the Reapers killed a billion Rak'en."

"Keelah," Tali gasped. "And your race just came to save them?"

"We Articians do what's right. No matter what. It's in our blood. When we saw the Rak'en were under attack, we came without a moment's hesitation. The battle was brutal. We lost tens of thousands of soldiers fighting them. That was just under two hours. In the end though, we were victorious. We destroyed all but one. We spent decades looking for it, but we never did. Until now."

The three approached the turret terminal. Shepard deactivated the defenses. The Geth tried to ambush the three, but failed miserably as they were cut down almost immediately upon revealing themselves. They took the elevator up. Ash shouted something about charges being set over the comm. It was hard to understand with the gunfire in the background. The elevator doors opened to a passageway with the ground completely cover in inch-deep water. Three Krogan appeared behind the support structures and immediately started charging at the three.

Shepard used pull to lift the three from the ground. The momentum still carried the three towards their group. Garrus took aim at the one of the right and fired a round in his head. Tali fired her shotgun at the one on the left and blew his head to pieces. Shepard used throw on the last Krogan and sent him flying about a hundred feet into the air. It was not going to be a soft landing.

"Charges set!" Ash yelled over the comm. "Everyone get low! Now!"

The sound of an explosion rung throughout the area. The three approached the blast door which opened upon their approach. Shepard's squad moved into the area. Ran down a slope towards a pillar at the back wall.

"All right! Nice work!" Joker congratulated. "That's one less thing to worry about. Commander, I'm bringing us in. I'll get as close to the site I can."

John, Garrus and Tali stood there in the water as they watched the Normandy come into sight. The ship hovered over the platform near the edge of the area. The cargo bay door opened revealing Kaidan, Wrex and a crewmember. The crew member went ahead of the two and waved them over. Kaidan and Wrex lugged the bomb towards it designated deployment. The two approached Shepard.

"The bomb is in position," Kaidan said over the comm. so the Salarian team could hear. "We're all set here."

"Commander, do you read me?" Ash asked.

"The nuke is almost ready. Get to the rendezvous, Williams," Shepard answered back.

"Negative, Commander," she said back in a stressed tone. Gunfire could be heard over the comm. "The Geth have us pinned down on the AA tower. We'll never make the rendezvous point in time."

"Get them out of there, Joker!" he ordered.

"Negative!" Ash yelled. "It's too hot! Can't risk it. We'll hold them off as long as we can-" She was cut off.

"It's okay, Commander," Kaidan said to him. "I need a couple of minutes to set the bomb. Go get them and meet me back here."

"Good idea." Shepard looked to Wrex. "Care to join us Wrex?"

"I thought you'd never ask," he said.

"To the AA tower," he announced to his squad.

The approached the opposing blast doors. It led to a passageway similar to the one they used to enter the area they were just in. Three Krogan and several Geth charged towards them.

One of the Hopper Geth leaped towards one of the supports in the passageway. It blew apart in half before it could reach its destination. "One shot!" Garrus yelled while lowering his sniper rifle.

"Bet you can't do that again!" Shepard dared.

"Challenge accepted!"

Wrex used pull to lift two of the Krogan off of the ground allowing for Tali to fire her shotgun into the two floating targets.

Shepard took out his pistol and fired round after round at the last charging Krogan. The Krogan shrugged off the rounds like they were mosquito bites. Shepard decided to meet him halfway and charged as well. Shepard aimed for the lower section of the Krogan and tackled him. He launched the Krogan over himself, turning the Krogan's momentum against him. He spun around and fired his pistol as fast as he could into the Krogan's head as he flew over him. The Krogan fell to the ground with his face gone.

Shepard looked up to see a Hopper fly towards him. Before he could react a shot ran through the area. The Hopper was shot through the eye, directly down the middle, splitting it in half. Both halves missed the Commander. He looked to Garrus who looked very proud of himself.

The squad moved to the elevator and went up to the walkways above the passageways. They moved forward, but saw a Geth dropship fly over head.

"Reinforcements!" Garrus called out. "We better hurry."

"Look out, LT," Ash warned over the comm. "We just spotted a Geth dropship heading to your position."

"It's already here!" Alenko said. "Geth are moving in from all directions."

"Can you hold them off?" Shepard asked.

"There's too many," he answered. "I don't think we can survive until you get here." There was a pause. "I'm activating the bomb."

"Alenko, what are you doing?" Shepard demanded.

"I'm just making sure this bomb goes off, no matter what. It's done, Commander. Go get Williams and get the hell out of here!"

"Screw that!" Ash countered. "We can handle ourselves. Go back and get Alenko."

"Fuck!" Shepard growled under his breath. 'Not another life. Goddamn. There's only the logical choice. How many can he save?' "Williams, radio Joker, and tell him to meet us at the AA tower."

Ash breathed a reluctant sigh of disapproval. "Yes, Commander. I..."

"It's the right choice," Kaidan reassured the two. "And you know it, Ash."

"I'm sorry, Kaidan," Shepard apologized. "I had to make a choice."

"I understand, Commander. I don't regret a thing."

Shepard looked to his squad. "Let's move it. If we don't save Ash, then Kaidan's sacrifice will have been in vain."

They went through the door on the walkway. Inside was an elevator which they entered. The elevator took them to the top of the AA tower where Ash and the Salarian team were in a heated battle with a dozen Geth.

Garrus took the right flank and covered them with sniper fire. Wrex let out a roar and charged forth against one of the Geth destroyers.

Tali used overload of a small cluster of three Geth shock troopers which short-circuited them. A Geth Destroyer charged at Tali readying to fire its assault rifle at her. Tali crouched down to dodge its fire. She activated her omni-tool and sabotaged its weapon. The Geth was helpless before her. Tali used the butt of her shotgun and smacked its head. The Geth tumbled to the ground and tried to get back up. Tali fire a round through its back exposing its internal circuits. The Destroyed tried to crawl away, but Tali reached in through the hole she created and pulled out a handful of wires and circuits. The Geth fell limp on the ground.

Nemain's blade sliced through the neck of a Geth Destroyed rendering it blind. Shepard twisted the blade and struck down vertically. The Destroyer split apart in half. Sparks flew from both halves. A Shock Trooper tried to sneak up against Shepard from behind. He spun around to face the Trooper. Blue energy surrounded his right arm. Shepard stabbed the Geth through the chest with his arm. It looked at his arm and then at Shepard almost like it was in disbelief. John pulled his arm upwards ripping the Geth's right shoulder away. He spotted Ash and the Salarian team taking cover at the back of the area. Shepard attempted to reach them but was cut off by a warp attack.

Saren flew in on a hover platform. Shepard fell back towards some cover while firing back with his pistol. Tali, Garrus and Wrex took cover as soon as they could. Saren fired another warp blast, but Shepard dodged it by rolling into cover. Saren jumped down from his hover platform and landed on the ground with a thud. Shepard quickly popped out of cover and fired several rounds at Saren. His barrier blocked each round. John went back into cover.

"This has been an impressive diversion, Shepard," Saren congratulated. "My Geth were utterly convinced the Salarians were the real threat. Of course it was all for nothing. I can't let you disrupt what I have accomplished here. You can't possibly understand what's really at stake."

"Why are you doing this, Saren?" Shepard demanded. "Why are you working with Sovereign?"

"You've seen the vision from the beacon, Shepard. You, of all people, should understand what the Reapers are capable of. They cannot be stopped. Do not mire yourself in pointless revolt. Do not sacrifice everything for the sake of petty freedoms. The Protheans tried to fight, and they were utterly destroyed. Trillions dead. But what if they had bowed before the invaders? Would the Protheans still exist? Is submission not preferable to extinction?"

"Do you honestly believe the Reapers will let us live?"

"Now you see why I never came forward with this to the Council. We organics are driven by emotion instead of logic. We will fight even when we know we cannot win. But what if we worked with the Reapers—if we make ourselves useful—think how many lives could be saved. Once I understood this, I joined Sovereign, though I was aware of the... dangers. I had hoped this facility could protect me."

"You're afraid that Sovereign is controlling you."

"I've studied the effects of indoctrination," Saren countered. "The more control Sovereign exerts the less capable the subject becomes. That is my saving grace. Sovereign needs me to find the Conduit. My mind is still my own... for now. But the transformation from ally to servant can be subtle. I will not let it happen to me."

"Sovereign has already made you his slave!" Shepard roared. "Can't you see that?"

"No! Sovereign needs me. If I find the Conduit, I've been promised a reprieve from the inevitable. This is my only hope."

"You claim that organics rely on emotion than logic so explain this to me! In the millions of years the Reapers have been at this, you think you're the only one to make this pact? You think you're so special that you, only you, came up with the idea to ally with the Reapers? I bet you, you're just the latest servant in a long line of servants who tried allying with the Reapers. The Reapers don't make allies! They make slaves. That's exactly what you are. Sovereign will use you until the Conduit is open and then turn you into a mindless husk!"

"Y-You're wrong! As long as we are useful, we will live! By working for Sovereign I'll guarantee that."

"You were a Spectre! You were sworn to defend the galaxy. Then you broke that vow to save yourself!"

"I'm not doing this for myself! Don't you see? Sovereign will succeed. It is inevitable. My way is the only way any of us will survive! I'm forging an alliance between us and the Reapers. Between organics and machines. And in doing so, I will save more lives than have ever existed! But you would undo my work. You would doom our entire civilization to complete annihilation. And for that, you must die."

Shepard and his squad rushed out of cover and fired everything they had at Saren. Their weapons managed to take out his shields, but Saren roared and an energy wave emitted from him. Shepard dug his sword into the ground to keep himself in place. Garrus, Tali and Wrex were sent into the crates from the blast. They were okay, but dazed from the attack.

Shepard pulled his sword out of the ground and charged forward at Saren. Saren lobbed warps at Shepard as he charged. With Shepard's fast speed, he was able to dodge each attack. When he got in close, he used throw to knock Saren off of his platform. Saren growled as he got quickly to his feet. He was fast. Before Shepard could react, Saren had him by the throat and dragged his towards the edge of the area. Saren lifted him off of the ground and held him there.

Saren's grip was intense. Shepard could only conclude that Sovereign added some enhancements into Saren.

Saren was about to strike, but the facility alarm went off. This grabbed Saren's attention for a split second. As he looked back, Shepard punched him in the face. Saren lost his grasp and rushed back to his hover platform. Shepard tried to aim with his pistol, but blood was still rushing to his head and he couldn't aim straight.

The Normandy roared as it flew in to land. Shepard waved for his team to rush in. The cargo bay doors opened allowing the Salarian team, Ash, Tali, Garrus, Wrex and finally Shepard to get inside. Joker didn't wait for the cargo bay doors to completely close before flying away. Shepard rushed to a view port to watch the explosion take place.

"Alright everyone, hang on!" Joker warned over the ship's speaker system.

The explosion went off, taking a large chunk of the area with it. Shepard couldn't help but feel like he betrayed his long time friend, Kaidan. Just left him behind. 'Damn this,' he thought to himself. 'Damn Saren! Damn Sovereign! Damn the Reapers! Kaidan deserved better than this. Instead I just left you there. Kaidan... I'm sorry.'


	14. Last Moments

Chapter 12: Last Moments

Shepard and his squad sat in their chairs in the debriefing room. Everyone was tired and upset over what happened. Tali noticed Ash looking more upset than Shepard.

"I... I can't believe Kaidan didn't make it. How could we just leave him down there?"

"Alenko knew the risks going in, and he gave his life to save us."

"It should have been me, Commander," she chided. "You know that!"

'He just left a friend behind and now you're blaming him for his death?' Tali thought in anger.

"This was my decision, Williams," he said back. "I had to save as many people as I could. You were with the Salarian team."

"So you sacrificed Kaidan to make nice with the Salarians!" she said in an off-handed comment.

Tali could see that comment sting him.

"Williams, back off!" Garrus growled.

"I-I'm sorry, Commander," she apologized. "That was over the line. You didn't deserve that."

"I'm sorry for interrupting," Liara said to change the subject. "But I have an idea. I believe that the beacon you found on Eden Prime was similar to the one you found on Eden Prime. It may have filled in the missing parts of your vision. I might be able to help you put all of those pieces together."

"You want to join our minds together, don't you?" he asked rhetorically. "Okay, do it."

Liara approached him. "Relax, Commander, embrace eternity!"

The images flew through Shepard's mind again. They were clearer and didn't flash through his mind as quickly. It showed the Reapers slaughtering the Protheans. Some Protheans were being turned into husks. The vision ended with a view of two suns. The view expanded to show two more planets. It then focused on one. It quickly zoomed in on the one planet and showed Sovereign in the planet's shadows.

"Incredible," Liara said as she exited the melding. "I... I never thought the images would be so... intense. I need a moment to collect myself."

"Did the vision make any sense to you?" he asked.

"It's a distress call, a message sent out across the Prothean Empire. A warning against the Reapers but the warning came too late."

"What about the Conduit?"

"There were other images. Locations. Places I recognize from my research... Ilos! The Conduit is on Ilos! That is why Saren needed to find the Mu Relay! It is the only way to get to Ilos."

"We need to go to Ilos!"

"The Mu Relay is inside the Terminus Systems," Tali reminded. "Alliance ships are not welcome there. Neither are Spectres."

"The Conduit is on Ilos. The place Saren is heading. We need to get there."

"Saren will have his entire fleet orbiting Ilos," Liara argued. "You will never make it down to the surface without reinforcements. You must alert the Council. We need a fleet to- ahh..." Liara shuddered at the headache. "I am sorry. The joining is... exhausting. I should go to the medical bay and lie down for a moment."

"We're done here. Everyone dismissed."

Everyone started to leave the comm room.

"Commander, there's a comm buoy nearby. I can link us in if you want to report back to the Citadel Council. You know, to warn them about Sovereign."

"Set it up, Joker. They have to know."

"Patching it through."

The holograms of the three Councilors appeared before Shepard.

"Commander Shepard," Tevos greeted. "I'm pleased to see the mission was a success."

"Saren is formidable enough without an army of Krogan serving under him." Velarn added.

"The Krogan would have served Sovereign, a Reaper," Shepard corrected.

"Yes, we saw mentioned of this on your Report," the Salarian Councilor said. "Sovereign. A sentient machine. A true artificial intelligence. This news is quite alarming... if it turns out to be accurate."

"Sovereign's a Reaper," Shepard assured them. "Saren admitted it."

"He's playing you, Shepard!" Velarn argued. "Saren still has contacts on the Citadel. He probably saw your earlier reports. The ones talking about your vision. And the Reapers."

"It's highly possible Saren is using false information to throw you off balance," the Salarian agreed. "Our own intelligence has never turned up any corroborating information."

"Are you three kidding me?" Shepard asked in an irritated tone. "Saren did not come up with Reapers from my earlier reports. In case you three have forgotten the first official recognition of the Reapers was in the evidence that was presented. He mentioned the Reapers in private. He mentioned that the Conduit was the key to bringing back the entire fleet! To say that he used my reports to learn of the Repaers makes no goddamn sense!"

"Now wait just a-" Velarn tried to get in before being cut off.

"Please see things from our perspective, Commander," Tevos tried to diffuse the situation. "Saren is a threat we can recognize. However, as far as we know, the Reapers only exist in your visions."

Velarn didn't speak further. He looked extremely angry at Shepard.

"Our decisions affect trillions of lives," the Salarian added. "We cannot act on the accusations of single person. Even a Spectre. Not without solid evidence."

"The Council cannot take official action here. That is why we created the Spectres. You have the authority to act as you see fit."

"If you truly believe Sovereign is the real threat, you must take whatever steps are necessary to stop it. And Saren."

"Good luck, Commander. From all of us."

VVVVVV

Tali decided to pay Shepard a visit in his cabin. They haven't really had a good chance to talk since he gave her the Geth data. She made sure there was no one around to see her go into Shepard's cabin. While she was sure Shepard would never be embarrassed by her, she would rather avoid any teasing from the crew.

She entered inside the cabin and saw Shepard whip a chair at the wall. He yelled while doing so. The chair bounced off the wall. Tali could see tears run down John's face. His eyes were red and he was breathing heavily.

"John?"

He looked towards her. John looked ashamed of himself.

"Hey, Tali."

"A-Are you okay?"

Shepard looked to the chair he just threw and gave a weak smile. "Yeah," he lied.

"Don't lie to me, John." She slowly approached him. "I know you are in pain."

"Kaidan was my friend."

"It wasn't your fault," she cooed while hugging him. "If there's anyone to blame it's Saren and the Reapers."

John sighed. "I know you're right. It's just doesn't make that choice any easier." He arms tightened around her. "We've fought together for several years. To lose him like this. On a mission to save the galaxy from the Reapers. He deserved to see it to the end."

"Like you said," she reminded him, "he gave his life for the mission. For all of us. We owe it to him to see this mission through."

"Yeah..."

"Is there anything I can do to help you feel better?"

"I'm feeling better now that you're here." He reached for her mask and gently pulled it off and placed it on the nearby table. His smile grew when he saw her beautiful face. Tali smiled at him. John kissed her sweet lips and just let the stress of the mission melt away. The kiss between the two was gentle and loving.

Tali loved this feeling. She felt happy and complete being in his arms, kissing his lips. John held her close to his body. Tali doesn't know of a time when she has ever felt so happy.

Now... Now was the time to tell him. She broke away from the kiss and rested her head on his chest.

"I-I've come to a decision," she stuttered.

"About what?" he asked.

Tali looked up at him. "About what I'm going to do from here." The look on her face was not fear, anger or happiness. Just nervousness.

John didn't say anything, just listened.

"I've thought it over and realize just how foolish I have been. The times I've spent with you have been the happiest times of my life. You promise to do so much for me and my people. No one comes close to what you're doing. I've decided that I'm staying with you until the Trial of Metamorphosis. From there I'll head back to the Fleet with the data you gave me. And when you come back, I'll rejoin you as soon as I possibly can. For good."

Shepard gave her a peck on the lips. "You sure about this?"

"More sure than I have ever been in my life."

"I'll spend every waking moment making you happy."

Tali rested her head on his chest. John rested his chin on her head.

"Interesting thing to mention, my name is the Human English translation."

"Oh," she said curiously. "Then what is your name in your people's tongue?"

"Jon'ison Tivos."

"I'm guessing you translated it to fit in?"

"Yeah. Though I've gone by the name of John Shepard longer than I went by the name of Jon'ison Tivos. At this point, I prefer the name John Shepard. John is short for Jon'ison and I already mentioned that Tivos means defender in my people's tongue. I couldn't call myself John Defender in this galaxy, but I found another name that fits a description exactly. Shepard. A person who defends their flock."

VVVVVV

Shepard walked into the CIC and made his way towards the galaxy map. Joker called in over the ship's comm system. "I forwarded the mission update to the Citadel, Commander. We've got confirmation on those reinforcements. Ambassador Udina wants us to report back to the Citadel. The Council is massing a joint-species fleet to deal with Saren and his Geth."

Shepard let out a laugh. "I knew they'd come around. Back to the Citadel, Joker. I want the Normandy at the head of that Fleet!"

"Yes, sir!"

VVVVVV

Shepard and his team approached the platform in the Council Chamber. Udina was next to him.

"Good job, Shepard," Udina congratulated. "Thanks to you, the Council's finally taking real action against Saren!"

"The ambassador is correct," Tevos commented. "If Saren is foolish enough to attack the Citadel—as you believe—we will be ready for him."

"Patrols are stationed at every mass relay linking Citadel space to the Terminus Systems."

"You can't honestly believe a blockade's going to stop him?" Shepard said. "He's on Ilos looking for the Conduit right now! What are you doing about that?"

"Ilos is only accessible through the Mu Relay, deep in the Terminus System, Commander. If we send a fleet in there, the only possible outcome is full-scale war."

"Now is the time for discretion, Commander," Udina cautioned. "Saren's greatest weapon was secrecy. Exposed, he is no longer a threat. This is over."

"One ship going into the Terminus Systems won't start a war. Especially a stealth ship," Shepard argued. "I can be discreet."

"You detonated a nuclear device on Virmire!" Velarn countered. "I wouldn't call that discreet."

"Your style served you well in the Traverse, Commander," Tevos said. "We recognize that. But Ilos requires a deft touch. We have the situation under control."

"No you don't!" Shepard yelled. "If Saren finds the Conduit, we're all screwed! We have to go to Ilos!"

Velarn sighed. "Ambassador Udina, I get the sense Commander Shepard isn't willing to let this go."

"There are serious political implications here, Shepard. Humanity's made great gains thanks to you. But now you're becoming more trouble than you're worth."

"You bastard!" Ash roared. "You're selling us out!"

"It's just politics, Commander. You've done your job, now let me do mine. We've locked out all of the Normandy's primary systems. Until further notice, you're grounded."

"No one stabs me in the back and gets away with it, Udina!"

"I think it's time for you and your team to leave, Commander. This is no longer concerns you. The Council can handle this. With my help of course."

"I promise you, Udina," Shepard growled. "You will regret this day for the rest of your life."

"You best go before you do something stupid, Commander," he sneered.

VVVVVV

Shepard was checking his locker on the Normandy. He heard several footsteps behind him. John looked back and saw Tali standing there just to his left. It finally caught up to him. The anger, the stress, the sadness. It was unbearable. He fell against the locker. John looked up at Tali with a tired look on his face.

"I can't believe they still won't believe after everything you've done."

"Makes me wonder," he said. "Who's the bigger fool? Them or me for believing that they'd take their heads out of their asses."

"Not you, John. You did everything right and more. Nobody... Absolutely nobody could have done what you've did! This stupid Council owes you for everything and more! Instead, they strip you of your command and ground the Normandy. Maybe we can get an appeal and get them to reverse their decision."

"By the time they would even consider letting me go, it would be too late. And I can't exactly tell them about my galaxy before my galaxy is ready to defend themselves and this galaxy."

"Y-You just can't give up, John! This galaxy is depending on you."

He gave a weak smile. "Have I ever come across as a quitter, Tali?"

Tali raised a brow, though Shepard couldn't see her express. "You have a plan?"

His smile grew. "I always have a plan."

"Then why are you sitting here?"

"Waiting. And I'm tired."

"Tired?"

"I have been fighting since I was four. The closest thing I had to normalcy in my life was on Mindoir. All of this just weighs on me."

"You're not alone in this burden, John. Garrus and I are here with you."

"That you are."

Tali offered her hand to him. He grabbed it and pulled himself up. John ended up right against Tali, looking into her eyes through her mask. He reached up to release the face cover of her helmet. It hissed as the clamps released.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt," Joker said over the ship's PA. "Got a message from Captain Anderson."

John sighed in slight annoyance as he placed Tali mask back on. Tali sigh in disappointment.

"What did he want?"

"Only to meet him in the wards, at Flux."

"I guess we should go see him," John said to Tali.

VVVVVV

Flux was loud and crowded. It wasn't hard to spot Anderson though. He was dressed in the causal Alliance uniform. Shepard and Tali walked over to his table and sat down.

"I'm glad you're here Shepard. I heard what happened."

"They pulled me off of the mission, just like when they pulled you off of the Normandy."

"I know. I'm sorry. I wanted to warn you, but there was no way to get a message to you before you arrived. I know you're pissed off right now, but you can't give up. They all think this is over, but we both know it's not. You have to go to Ilos. You have to stop Saren from using the Conduit!"

"Shepard already has a plan in motion," Tali mentioned.

"Y-You do?"

John nodded. "Remember those informants I have?"

"The ones who seem to be as knowledgeable as the Shadow Broker?"

Again he nodded. "Just a moment." He activated his omni-tool. Aether's top torso appeared before him. Shepard spoke to him in his native tongue. /"Have you completed your mission?"/

/"Of course, Commander. Get to the Normandy and I will override the lock down."/

/"And one more thing. I want you to find Udina and punch that bastard in the face."/

/"Will do."/

The hologram cut out. "Aether hacked into C-Sec's systems."

"Your friend hacked into C-Sec?" Anderson said disbelieved. "C-Sec has some of the most advance security systems for their networks."

"Aether is just that good."

"One of these days we really need to talk about these friends of yours."

"Yeah. But for now..." Shepard got to his feet with Tali. "I have a galaxy to save."

VVVVVV

Udina was typing away at his computer when he heard a noise. He looked up and saw a man suddenly appear before him. He was dressed in a black cloak. Udina got to his feet in a panic. "Who the hell are you?"

Aether moved quickly towards him and primed his fist. "Compliments of Commander Shepard," he said while driving his fist into Udina's face completely knocking him to the ground.

VVVVVV

Shepard stood by Joker watching the ship's controls. The control was red. After a moment it turned green. "Get this ship out of here Joker!"

"Aye, aye!" Joker went forth towards the system's relay. Electricity went around the ship and then suddenly they were sent forward into the next system. Joker looked at the LADAR. "Aw, damn it. No signs of pursuit? I was hoping the Council would send some ships after us. I was looking forward to putting the Normandy through its paces. Figured I'd get to see what this ship can really do."

"Saren's still out there. Maybe we'll get a chance to play hide-and-seek with Sovereign," he quipped.

"You know it doesn't seem like much fun when you say it, Commander. So you need something?"

"How long until we reach the Mu Relay?"

"ETA two hours."

VVVVVV

'Two hours.' That thought went through Tali's mind. Just two hours until they reach Ilos in what could be a suicide mission. She slowly made her way to Shepard's cabin. Her hands were wringing together, a gesture she made when extremely nervous. Tali's heart beat a little faster when approaching his cabin. 'Two hours.' This may be their last moments together. Shepard didn't mention any vision of his death so the Trial of Metamorphosis has not arrived. Is it still possible for them to die on Ilos?

Another few steps towards his cabin. It's possible to fail the Trials. What if that happens on Ilos? If Shepard dies on Ilos, and he mentioned no vision, then that means he failed and that he wasn't going to come back. She wouldn't want to leave the planet if that happens. And if she died, then the bond Shepard has for her would end his life. If one of them died on Ilos, they would both die.

'Two hours.' This may be the last moments they have together. Being a part of his crew wasn't the only choice she made recently. She wanted to show him how much she loves him. Tali approached his door and was about to knock on it but her nervousness stopped her. She took a deep breath and decided to just go in. Tali has slept in his room for over a week now. Why knock? Inside the poorly lit room she saw him working at his terminal.

John looked up from the terminal and saw her standing there. With his lights dimmed, Tali was briefly a silhouette from the light outside of the room. "I was just thinking about you," he cooed.

The door closed behind Tali as she took a few steps towards him. "I was just thinking about you too," she said in a shaky voice.

"A-Are you okay? You're shaking."

"I-I'm just nervous. With Ilos coming soon I can't help but feel like this may be the last moments we have together."

"We'll make it through this mission, Tali."

Tali let out a quiet but sad chuckle. Her arms went around the back of his neck as she rested her head on his chest. John's arms went around her back and held her closely. "Even in the worst of times, I always feel so safe in your company. I know you're unsure of what will happen on Ilos. If you were sure, you would have made a promise. The truth is neither of us knows what will happen down there. For all we know, Saren has probably found the Conduit and we're flying into a trap. I-If that's true, then I want to make these last moments special. For both of us. You've shown me how much you love me in so many ways. Being my best friend and protector since I arrived on Mindoir. Comforting me when Mother passed away. Making my immune system strong. Letting me join your crew and even potentially sacrificing your own happiness to help me fulfill my obligation to my people. So many ways. Right now I just want to show you how much I love you." Her hand ran down the center of his back which made him gasp quietly. "I-I want you. I need you to make me feel whole." Tali looked up at him. Her reflective eyes looked into his. Tali let go of him, still looking into his eyes. "I want to share myself with you. Feel your skin on mine."

"A-Are you sure?" Even he was nervous. "We don't have to if you're not sure."

Tali place a single finger on his lips to stop him from talking. She took her hands and gently held his cheeks. "Please John... Free me from this suit."

John's heart melted upon hearing those words. He reached up and pulled her veil off of her head.

Tali stood there allowing him to remove her helmet. John placed the mask on a nearby table. He then disconnected the back part of the helmet which fell into two parts. Tali's head was completely exposed. The air of the room felt very cold. It caused her next breath to shudder. John's right hand went over her smooth bald head. The heat that emanated from his hand caused her to gasp suddenly. It felt so good to feel that heat.

John moved in and planted a kiss on her lips. His hands stayed on her head which only made the kiss feel more blissful to her. He pulled away while giving her two quick kisses. The next part of her suit was the neck. There were clamps that were hidden on the back. The veil hid them from sight. His hands ran down from the back of her head to the back of her neck. His cheek brushed up against hers. He kissed her ear while undoing the clamps on her neck guard.

Tali moaned in please from the kisses. The last clamp was opened which freed her neck. Tali's neck was long and slender, even more so than a human. John placed the neck guard on the same table as her helmet. He focused on her neck and gave her several kisses along its length. The heat and kisses on her long-covered neck made her cry out. It felt so nice. He ran his lips and the tip of his tongue up her neck again. She groaned from the pleasure. Alas, John had to stop so he could continue undressing her.

Next were her hands. Tali pressed a couple of buttons around her wrists which opened the seal. Her hands were exposed. Now... Now she had a chance to really feel him. Tali hand stroked John's face. He closed his eyes as she explored his face. John opened his eyes again and took her right hand. He brought it up to his face and planted several kisses on it. This brought a smile to Tali's face.

The arms. Tali pulled up the short sleeve that covered the clamps around her left shoulder. The metal plate on her right arm was easy to remove by undoing the straps underneath it. Soon her arms were exposed to him. John went to work by kissing her from her hand all over the way up her arm.

"Mmm, that's nice," she whispered. Tali kissed him and said. "I think it's only fair you start removing some of your clothing too."

John took off his shoes using his feet and then yanked off his socks. He stood straight before her with a smile.

"Nice try," she said in a seductive tone. Tali grabbed the base of his shirt and pulled upwards. Slowly exposing his abdomen to her. Her breathing deepened. She pulled his shirt off of his head and he stood half naked before her. Tali ran her hand down his chest to feel his skin and muscle. There were about half a dozen scars on the front of his chest. Which of them were from battle and which were from the experiments, she didn't want to know. She gave him several kisses on his chest.

John's hands started releasing the clamps on her back. 'This is it,' she thought. Her naked form would soon be before him. The back of the suit split down the middle. He pulled off the top of her suit and exposed her torso. John placed the suit on the ground. He took a moment to admire her body. Her breasts were round and firm and her nipples were a dark aqua colour like her lips.

"You're beautiful," he said to her.

"Say it again."

"You're beautiful," he repeated. John kissed her on her clavicle and moved downwards. Tali closed her eyes and enjoyed John's exploration. His left hand cupped her right breast. He gave it a soft squeeze and started kneading it while his kissed her left breast. Tali's hands grabbed his head and held him close to her breast. He ran the tip of his tongue around her nipple.

"John..." she said under her breath. "Oh Keelah."

He gave another kiss and ran up her chest again. John's eyes met with hers as he kissed her lips again. This time there was more passion. His hands ran down her back and over her rear and then at the thigh. He grabbed quickly and pulled her up. The sudden movements made her break the kiss briefly but she wrapped her arms around his neck and legs around his waist.

John carried her over to the bed and laid her on their bed. He broke the kiss and started moving towards the last pieces of suit that needs to be removed. He quickly kissed her belly button. John got to her feet and pushed several buttons around her ankles. He pulled off her boots. All that was left was her pants. He undid his belt while moving to the top of her pants.

John's fingers slipped inside the top of her suit's bottom and slowly pulled them down. The last part of her suit was gone. Tali was fully exposed to him. She briefly covered herself with her arms, but saw John quickly remove his pants. Tali blushed upon seeing his naked form. He crawled to her on the bed. John couldn't help but look into her beautiful eyes.

"I love you," he said.

Tali could say anything over all the happiness she was feeling in the moment. She just pulled him down on her and kissed his lips while feeling his body heat. His hand ran down the side of her body. It eventually stopped at her thigh. His hand gently caressed her leg. John's hand slowly went towards her womanhood. He gently rubbed the region. Tali gasped at the feeling. Not even the nerve stimulator could replicate this.

John noticed some tears around her eyes. "Tali... You're crying. Do you want me to stop?"

"Keelah, no," she replied, barely able to speak. "I-I'm just so happy. Please, make me yours." She spread her legs for him.

John adjusted himself right over her. He used his free right hand to move his member to her slit. John slowly entered her. Tali gasped loudly. She kissed him fiercely as he went further inside her. Soon Shepard reached her hymen. With even a soft push, it caused her to groan a little.

"This is going to hurt," he whispered to her. "Do you want me to continue?"

Tali nodded. "Please," she whispered to him.

John broke through her maidenhood causing her to cry out in pain. Tali ended up biting down on his shoulder which caused him to wince. He held her in his arms and allowed her to try and dispel the pain. She didn't bite down hard enough to draw blood, but a mark would be left behind. The pain soon subsided and Tali regained her awareness. She realized her teeth were sinking in his shoulder.

"Keelah, John I'm so sorry!" She instinctively licked the bite mark on his shoulder.

John rubbed her back. "It's okay. I know it hurt." He looked her in the eyes again. She had tears coming from her eyes from her recent pain. "I'll share your pain."

The two were one and she has never felt so fulfilled in her life. "I-It's okay to continue. The pain is gone."

John gave her a sensual kiss on her lips before continuing. His thrusts were slow at first. Tali moaned in pleasure from his thrusting. His tempo increased as they became more comfortable with each other. Tali wrapped her legs around him to help increase his thrusts.

"Oh, John... M-More!"

Tali could feel the pleasure build up inside her. She knew she was getting very close to her release. All of a sudden John stopped. "W-Why did you stop?" she said in an angry voice.

John pulled out of her and quickly switched positions with her. Tali was shocked at the sudden change. She was now lying on top of him. He smiled at her. "I'm letting you have some fun too." His hands rested on her hips. Tali quickly caught on what he wanted her to do. She grabbed his members and lowered herself onto him. John's head tilted backwards briefly as his moaned. His hands urged her to move upwards on his shaft.

Tali started moving her hips slowly and uneasily. She quickly adjusted to the new position and was moving faster. This position excited her. It was as pleasurable as the one before but was slightly more arousing as it made her feel like she was in control of him. Tali support herself by planting her hands on his chest. John grabbed and kneaded her breasts as she straddled him.

'Feels so good,' she screamed in her thought.

"J-John, I'm close," she whimpered in pleasure.

John sat up and held her against him. He thrust upward with her downward thrusts. Tali wrapped her arms around his shoulder. Her head tilted backwards as she screamed. "I'm so close!"

"Me too," he said.

"I'm going to- ah! Ah! Ah!" Tali screamed as she finally reached climax. John cried out along with her. She could feel his warmth enter her. They were covered in sweat. To Tali, it felt like John was on fire.

They tried to catch their breath. Neither of them dared to let go of each other. John slowly lowered her down onto the bed. He grabbed his sheet and pulled it over them. Their legs rubbed against each other. They just enjoyed each other's presence.

Tali was the first to say something. "That was amazing."

"You were amazing," he said to her lovingly. John kissed her forehead.

"Thank you for this. For everything. No matter what happens, I'm just glad that I was able to share myself with you."

"Same here," he cooed. "For now, I just want to hold you close until we're about to approach the relay."

"I would like that."


	15. Connections

Chapter 13: Connection

Stealth systems were immediately engaged as soon as the Normandy appeared at the other end of the relay. Shepard and his crew were gathered in the cockpit. "Uh, Commander we have company," Joker announced.

There were at least a dozen Geth ships over Ilos.

"Have their sensors picked us up yet?" Liara asked.

"Stealth systems are engaged. Unless we get close enough for a visual, they won't know that we're here."

"Picking up some strange readings from the planet's surface," Pressley mentioned.

"Talk us down, Joker," Shepard ordered. "Lock in on the coordinates."

"Negative on that, Commander. The nearest landing zone is two klicks away."

"We'll never make it in time on foot!" Ash argued. "Get us something closer."

"There is nowhere closer! I've looked!"

"Then drop us in the Mako," Shepard suggested.

"You need at least a hundred meters of open terrain to pull off a drop," Pressly countered. "The most I can find near Saren is twenty."

"Twenty meters?" Ash gasped. "No way we can make a drop in there."

"We have to try!" Liara said.

"Find another landing zone!" Ash demanded Pressly.

"There is no other landing zone!" Pressly yelled.

"The descent angle is too steep," Tali explained.

"It's our only option," Liara reminded.

"It's not an option!" Ash screamed at her. "It's a suicide run! We don't-"

"I can do it," Joker said in a calm, confident tone.

"Joker?" Shepard muttered.

"I can do it."

"Gear up and head down to the Mako! Joker, drop us right on top of that bastard!"

VVVVVV

A small platoon of Geth moved through the entrance to the Prothean base. Saren heard a roar in the sky. He spun around and saw the Normandy fly in. He looked to two Geth and yelled, "You two, keeping moving inside. Now!"

The Mako emerged from underneath the Normandy and landed in the small area. The entrance doors slowly closed as Saren watch the Mako make its safe landing. The doors slammed shut with a loud thud. Shepard's entire crew came out of the Mako and looked at the doors.

"Damn it!" Garrus cursed. "Saren closed the doors behind himself."

"No way to get through that door without some heavy duty explosives," Wrex added.

"Saren found a way in," Ash reminded. "Maybe there's a terminal to open it around here."

The fight the Geth faced was nowhere near even. Shepard's squad destroyed any Geth that had the misfortune to cross their path. They movement was not impeded in any way during their charge towards the complex's command terminal.

The area was overgrown with the planet's flora. It was surprising that this complex was still standing after fifty thousand years. As the group journeyed into the complex they saw fossilized Protheans sitting in odd devices. At least they thought they were fossilized Protheans. They could have been statues. But they looked like they were exposed to Husk technology. Shepard's group was in too much of a hurry to truly examine them.

It took them less than ten minutes to find an elevator that still worked. It had to lead where the control terminal was. Liara remarked how odd that the place still ran after eons.

The elevator opened up to what appeared to be a Geth bunker of sorts. There were a dozen regular Geth in the area along with one Geth Prime. There were two Armatures on each side of the room. All four were disengaged. Shepard and Tali quickly went to work hacking the armatures while the rest of the squad kept the Geth distracted. It didn't take long for the two to get the Armatures up and running. Once they were, the Geth of the room were finished off within minutes.

Shepard's omni-tool read an energy reading at the back of the room. They moved forward and found a ramp that led to a second floor which had a working terminal. Shepard activated it.

"Come on," Garrus urged. "We need to hurry before Saren finds the Conduit."

"Unless he's already found it," Ash mentioned. "Then we'd be walking into a trap."

"A chance we'll have to take."

A hologram activated prompting Ash to call out, "Hold on! Something's happening."

The hologram was orange in colour and the VI was so corrupted that it could not hold a form. It was just one large ball of holographic static.

"Too late..." the hologram said through static and in broken words. "unable to... invading fleets... no escape..."

"Sounds like a message," Liara thought out loud. "It might be in Prothean, though I can't seem to understand it."

"None of you can understand it?" Shepard asked his squad. They looked surprised at him. "I guess not. It's a warning against the Reaper fleet."

"By the goddess," Liara gasped. "The Cipher must have implanted you with an understanding of the Prothean language."

"Not safe... seek refuge... –side the archives..."

"Can you make anything out that may be useful?"

"Reapers... the Citadel... overwhelmed... only hope..." The voice suddenly changed from the VI to some recording of what Shepard could only assume was a military officer giving an order. It sounded like the audio from WW2 propaganda. "act of desperation... the Conduit... all is lost..."

"It said something about the Conduit, but it was too damaged to make any real sense of," he partial lied. His crew didn't need to know about the 'all is lost' line. "We should keep moving."

As Shepard and his crew move forward, he could hear it repeat, "cannot be stopped... Cannot be stopped..."

Lucky for the squad, a pathway led directly to a working elevator which took them up to where they faced the two Armatures, very close to their drop point. They went back inside the Mako. The entrance of the complex opened allowing them inside. The walls of the tunnel had many pods that stuck out of its walls. Large roots of trees came out of the walls and dug into the ground of the tunnel.

"You think Saren would have set up some kind of trap," Ash muttered.

"Either he was in too much of a hurry, or we haven't run into them yet," Wrex answered her.

"What are those pods in the walls?" Tali asked.

"Probably stasis pods," Garrus replied. "The Protheans here were probably trying to outlast the Reaper invasion, by cryogenically freezing themselves here."

The cannon of the Cannon roared as they ran into a small group of Geth that was left behind. They were clustered close enough together that one round from the Mako cannon took care of the group.

Up ahead they saw a large barrier curtain that blocked the tunnel. He stopped right in front of it.

"Saren, must of set an ambush!" Wrex yelled. "It's a trap!"

"I don't think Saren's is behind this," Liara muttered.

"There's a door to our right that active," Shepard observed. "Either Aren went that way, or the way to deactivate the barrier is there."

Again his squad hoped out of the Mako and entered through the door. It was an elevator that started moving as soon as his group entered.

"Any idea what we may find down there?" Tali asked out loud. Just out of curiousity.

"No idea," Liara answered. "Has to be useful if we were targeted."

"I don't like the idea of us being specifically targeted," Tali said in a disapproving tone.

The elevator doors opened to a small room. Its walls were lined with at least a couple hundred stasis pods. Three large trees stood at the back of the room. The only light that entered the room shone a beam on the terminal at the end of the walkway. As Shepard's squad approached the terminal activated revealing a corrupt VI.

"You are not Prothean, but you are not machine, either," it stated. "This inevitability was one of many that was anticipated. This is why we sent-out warnings through the beacons."

"Fascinating," Liara said. "A working VI program, but it is badly damaged."

"I do not sense the taint of indoctrination upon any of you, unlike the other that passed by recently. Perhaps there is still hope."

"Wait, I can understand it," Tali exclaimed. "Why aren't you speaking Prothean?"

"I have been monitoring communications since you arrived here. I have translated my output into a format you will comprehend. My name is Vigil. You are safe here, for the moment. But that is likely to change. Soon, nowhere will be safe."

"Why did you bring me here?" Shepard asked Vigil.

"You must break a cycle that has continued for millions of years," Vigil answered. "But to stop it, you must understand or you will make the same mistakes we did. The Citadel is the heart of your civilization and the seat of government. As it was with us, and as it has been with every generation that came before us. But the Citadel is a trap. The station is actually an enormous mass relay. One that links to dark space, the empty void beyond the galaxy's horizon. When the Citadel relay is activated, the Reapers will pour through. And all you know will be destroyed."

"How do the Reapers survive in dark space?"

"We have only theories. The researchers here came to believe the Reapers enter prolonged states of hibernation to conserve energy. This allows them to survive the thousands of years it takes for organic civilizations to rebuild itself. But in this state, they are vulnerable. By retreating beyond the edge of the galaxy, they ensure no one will accidentally discover them. They keep their existence hidden until the Citadel is activated."

"How come no one ever noticed the Citadel was an inactive mass relay?"

"The Reapers are careful to keep the greatest secrets of the Citadel hidden. That is why they created a species of seemingly benign organic caretakers. The Keepers maintained the station's most basic functions. They enable any species that discover the Citadel to use it without fully understanding the technology. Reliance on the Keepers ensures no other species will ever discover the Citadel's true nature. Not until the relay is activated and the Reapers invade."

"The Reapers can wipe out the Council and the entire Citadel fleet in a single surprise attack!" Shepard exclaimed in horrified realization.

"That was our fate. Our leaders were dead before we even realized we were under attack. The Reapers seized control of the Citadel and through it, the mass relays. Communication and transportation across our empire were crippled. Each star system was isolated, cut off from the others. Easy prey for the Reaper fleets. Over the next decades the Reapers systematically obliterated our people. World by world, system by system, they methodically wiped us out."

"Some of you must have survived?" Shepard asked in disbelief.

"Through our Citadel, the Reapers had access to all our records, maps, census data. Information is power and they knew everything about us. Their fleets advance to every settled region of the galaxy. Some worlds were utterly destroyed. Others were conquered, their population enslaved. These indoctrinated servants became sleeper agents under Reaper control. Take in as refugees by other Protheans, then betrayed them to the Reapers. The Reapers either killed us or enslaved us. They were brutal and absolutely thorough."

"What do the Reapers get out of this? Why do they repeat this cycle over and over again?"

"The Reapers are alien, unknowable. Perhaps they need slaves or resources. More likely they are driven by motivates and goals organic beings cannot hope to comprehend. In the end, what does it matter? Your survival depends on stopping them, not in understanding them."

"You said you brought me here for a reason. Tell me what I need to do."

"The Conduit is the key. Before the Reapers attacked, we Protheans were on the cusp of unlocking the mysteries behind the mass relay technology. Ilos was a top secret facility. Where the researchers worked to create a small scale version of a mass relay. One that linked directly to the Citadel, the hub of the relay network."

"The Conduit is not a weapon," Liara observed. "It's the back door onto the Citadel!"

"Go on," Shepard said to Vigil.

"They entered this project to discover the secrets of the mass relays because of the Oracle."

Those words made Shepard's, Tali's and Garrus' eyes widen.

"T-The Oracle?" Liara repeated. "Who or what is that?"

"The Oracle is a spirit that has existed for a very long time. According to her, she has spent millions of your trying to help the species of this galaxy stop the Reapers. Most of the time species have ignored her. We did not. She warned us of the threat, but our leaders were unwavering into truly believing her. The scientists of this facility worked towards following her."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Ash interrupted it. "You're telling me that the Conduit exists because a ghost told you to?"

"She was no mere spirit or psychosis. The Oracle was knowledgeable in advance technology. The beacons that we used were based on technology she gave to us. The Conduit was possible because of her. Hope exists because of her. When the researchers awoke from their stasis, after three hundred years, they realized the Prothean people were doomed. There were far too few to sustain a viable population. Yet they vowed to find a way to stop the Reapers from returning. A way to break the cycle. And they knew the Keepers were the key."

"Aren't they under the influence of the Reapers?" Shepard asked.

"The Keepers are controlled by the Citadel. Before each invasion, a signal is sent through the station compelling the Keepers to activate the Citadel relay. After decades of feverish study and help from the Oracle, the scientists discovered a way to alter the signal. Using the Conduit, they gained access to the Citadel and made the modifications. This time, when the signal was sent to the Citadel, the Keepers ignored it. The Reapers are trapped in dark space."

"Unless Saren gets in," Shepard commented.

"Correct. Saren will try to transfer control of the station over to Sovereign. Sovereign will override the Citadel's systems and manually open the relay. And the cycle of destruction will begin again."

"Is there any way we can stop them?"

"There's a data file in my terminal. Take a copy when you go. When you reach the Citadel's master control unit, upload it to the station. It will corrupt the Citadel's security protocols and give you temporary control over the station. It might give you a chance against Sovereign."

"A what?" Garrus said. "I've never heard of the Citadel's MCU."

"Through the Conduit. Follow Saren. He will lead you there. But listen to me before you take the data file. There is another hope beyond what we offer you. The key to defeating the Reapers."

This got the attention of everyone.

"The Oracle told us of a race that still exists. One that is more powerful than the Reapers."

"Another race?" Ash muttered.

"The Articians."

The caused Tali and Garrus to briefly glance at Shepard.

"The Articians?" Liara mumbled. "My research has never turned up a mention of an alien race known as the Articians."

"That is because the Articians do not exist in this galaxy. The Articians exist in another reality."

"Okay, now I know you're screwing with us," Ash said.

"Our galaxies have a connection through a wormhole in an unknown system. At this point the wormhole is permanent. The Articians' galaxy developed without the use of mass relays or element zero. Instead they had to rely on themselves to develop FTL travel."

"FTL travel without relays or element zero?" Liara repeated. "I cannot even begin to imagine how advance they are, to able to do that. How do we contact the Articians?"

"The Oracle. She has been in contact with the Articians for tens of thousands of years. When the time comes, the Articians will come to this galaxy's aid."

"What the hell are they waiting for?" Wrex bellowed. "This galaxy is already messed up and in need of help, especially with the Reapers on our doorsteps."

"The Articians require a certain individual to help defeat the Reapers. Despite their technological superiority, the Reapers are still many in number and could quickly overrun them. The Articians wait for their Tiven'Vian."

"A Tive-what?" Wrex grumbled.

"A Tiven'Vian. A specific individual born with unparallel skill and power. This individual must pass Trials before them in order to reach their true potential. This generation's Tiven'Vian is the key to defeating the Reapers once and for all. Saren has not reached the Conduit. There is still hope, if you hurry."

Shepard took the data file and led his group back into the elevator.

"Can you believe that?" Liara asked out loud. "A race in another reality that is technologically superior to us in every way by tens of thousands of years."

"I'm not impressed," Wrex muttered. "If this race is so powerful, why are they waiting for just one person to show up to give them direction?"

Shepard couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with their discussion about his people. The elevator, thankfully, opened allowing them access to the Mako again. The tunnel went straight for another half klick before it started to twist. Shepard didn't even stop the Mako once. If the cannons missed them, he drove past them, allowing the shield to take damage.

VVVVVV

The relay near the Citadel activated. One Geth ship appeared. Then two. Then dozens along with Sovereign. They made their way towards the Citadel fleet. All of them open fired on the fleet. The Citadel fleet was unaware of their presence until several of the Turian cruisers blew up. The Geth ships continued firing torpedoes as they made their advance. The Destiny Ascension went forward to join the fray.

Electricity sparked at one of the consoles inside the Asari Dreadnaught causing the Matriarch Captain to stumble briefly. She regained her footing. "Activate the defenses! Seal the station!"

"The arms aren't moving," the navigator said. "Systems are not responding!"

"Abandon the Citadel! Evacuate the Council!"

"Citadel Control! Citadel Control! Do you read?"

At C-Sec the Asari laid dead on her console. The shadow of a Geth Trooper loomed over her dead body. It turned around and followed Saren towards the Citadel tower.

VVVVVV

The Mako rode down the last section of the drainage ditch where they could see the Conduit. It was starting to close and they needed to reach it fast. There were four Colossi in the area to impede their progress. Shepard raced in.

"The shields can't take anymore, Shepard," Tali cautioned.

"We just need to reach the Conduit."

Two blasts hit the Mako completely destroying the shield. Another hit the rear end causing it to shudder forward.

"Damaged on rear armor! We can't take another blast!"

One Colossus fired a blast which was heading right at the Mako. Electricity sparked around the Mako and launched it. The blast splashed harmlessly on the ground.


	16. Imminent Destruction

Chapter 14: Imminent Destruction

Several Geth patrolled the area around the base of the Citadel tower. There were fires all over the Presidium. Suddenly the Relay became activate which got the attention to the guard units there. A loud hum emanated from the device. A flash of blue light released a smoking Mako that collided with the group of Geth. The Mako flipped and slid on its side to the wall.

John opened the bottom hatch of the Mako and fell out. His squad followed through the hole. As soon as they emerged, several Dragon Teeth activated, lowering Husks into battle. Ash, Tali and Wrex fired their shotguns, destroying the husks before they could emit their first moan.

"Everybody into the elevator!" Shepard ordered.

They didn't think twice as they piled into the elevator lift.

VVVVVV

Saren marched towards the MCU filled with rage. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a couple of Keepers. He let out a growl as he took aim with his Geth pulse rifle and killed the killed with two bursts of fire. The platform extended before him as the MCU activated. A large orange holographic display appeared before him. Saren pressed several buttons to start the process.

VVVVVV

The Citadel's arms started to close.

"They're sealing the station!" one of the ship's Captains yelled over the comm.

"Don't let any enemy ships inside the arms!" another Captain ordered.

Half a dozen Turian cruisers gathered around the apex of the Citadel to stop Sovereign from entering. They let off a barrage of torpedoes into the nebula where Sovereign was traveling through. The occasional light highlighted its massive form.

None of the attacks seem to slow down Sovereign a bit. One cruiser tried blocking Sovereign's path. Sovereign charged right through the cruiser as a mere inconvenience. The vessel exploded from the impact.

Sovereign and several Geth ships flew through between the citadel arms right before they closed. Sovereign drifted towards the Citadel tower. It slowed itself to ensure the tower was not damaged. Its legs clamped down on the tower and several tubes emerged from its underside. The tubes attached to the tower itself allowing Sovereign to connect.

VVVVVV

The elevator ran upwards as fast as its machinery could allow it. A roar rumbled through the building. The elevator stopped halfway up the tower right after. Shepard couldn't help but feel extremely annoyed at all of these obstacles.

"Suit up!" he ordered his squad. "We're going out!"

Each squad member rushed to attach their helmets. Shepard waited until he heard the last click before fire two shots at the glass wall of the lift. He peered through the opening and saw the depth of the Citadel. Shepard carefully moved out of the elevator and activated his magnetic clamps. He looked to his left and saw the source of his impedance. Sovereign. The massive Reaper was holding onto the tip of the tower readying itself to summon his horde.

Shepard's group moved forward. The pathway led to a tunnel where an elevator crashed into another causing the glass to break apart. Several Geth walked out of the crash.

"Geth!" Tali called out.

The squad didn't stop charging. Sovereign was working its way in the Citadel's network and every moment stopping was a moment for it. The squad mowed the Geth down during their approach. With their top-of-the-line weapons with full upgrades the Geth were nothing more than pests.

Several Krogan warlords came down from the ramp ahead to the right. Shepard's squad managed to disable their shields but the Keogans started to charge.

"Wrex, lift them!"

Wrex and Shepard moved ahead and used their biotics to lift the unprotected Krogan off of the structure. Their charge gave them momentum which flung them off in the distance, likely to crash into one of the arms.

The group wasted little time in their skirmishes up the tower. They were driven. Everything depended on them reaching the top. To the Geth, Shepard's squad was nothing but an unstoppable force. All their attempts at delaying them were futile.

The Geth dropship was shot down from Shepard and Tali activating the tower's defenses. The turret array that was set up was destroyed within minutes. Geth Destroyers and Primes torn apart from a Quarian like they were nothing more than target dummies. Krogan Battlemasters vaporized by biotic energy from Wrex. Ash and Garrus provided sniper support against any hoppers or Geth snipers.

During the fight up, every once in a while, Sovereign would slam one of its appendages against the wall of the tower and shake the area. It grew larger and larger as the team approached it. They thought it was massive before. It was almost unthinkable in size.

Soon Shepard's squad reached their destination: A hatch that led into the Council chamber.

The chamber was filled with small fires. As they walked up the first set of stairs, a group of Geth came down the second.

"Damn, more Geth!" Ash moaned.

"Well, you did say this chamber was filled with good defensive positions," Shepard quipped.

"I wasn't expecting to be fighting here!"

The Geth retreated to their last position around a rock garden. Shepard lifted a boulder and flung it towards the cover of several Geth. They dove out of cover to get out of the way of the boulder. Ash and Garrus took advantage of the situation by sniping them. Tali hacked one Geth to attack the other remaining Trooper. Once it was down, Wrex approached the hack soldier and fired his shotgun at point blank splitting it into two.

Now... Now is the final confrontation. Shepard continued forward with his squad up the final steps. Shepard rushed to the platform and saw a holographic screen hover. He didn't see Saren anywhere. He could hear a hum though. Saren popped up from behind the end of the platform and threw a grenade towards his squad. They dove out of the way and took cover. Saren hover over the area on his hover platform.

"I was afraid you wouldn't make it in time, Shepard," he said.

"In time for what?" he yelled from behind cover.

"The final confrontation," he answered. "I think we both expected it would end like this. You've lost, you know that, don't you? In a few minutes, Sovereign will have complete control of all the Citadel's systems. The relay will open. The Reapers will return."

"I still have some tricks up my sleeve."

"You survived our encounter on Virmire. But I've changed since then. Improved. Sovereign has... upgraded me."

"You let Sovereign implant you? Are you insane?"

"I suppose I should thank you, Shepard. After Virmire, I couldn't stop thinking about what you said. About Sovereign manipulating me. About Indoctrination. And even your reasoning that I might not have been the first. The doubt began to eat away at me. Sovereign sensed my... hesitation. I was implanted to strengthen my resolve. Now my doubts are gone. I believe in Sovereign completely. I understand that the Reapers need organics. Join us and Sovereign will find a place for you, too."

"Sovereign didn't implant you to strength your resolve. It implanted you to weaken it. You were starting to fight his hold and once Sovereign detected that, he implanted you to strength his hold on you! You're a slave!"

"The relationship is symbiotic. Organic and machine intertwined. A union of flesh and steel. The strengths of both, the weaknesses of neither. I am a vision of the future, Shepard. The evolution of all organic life. This is our destiny. Sovereign sees a power in you and has taken great interest. Join Sovereign and experience a true rebirth!"

"Sovereign hasn't won yet! I can stop it from taking control of the Citadel! Step aside and the invasion will never happen!"

"We can't stop it! Not forever. You saw the visions. You saw what happened to the Protheans. The Reapers are too powerful."

"No they're not! If they are as powerful as they say they are, why ask for anyone's help. The Reapers can be destroyed like anything else. You were once a Spectre. Every Spectre takes an oath to protect the galaxy against the evils that plague it. Deep down, I know you believe this is wrong! You can fight this! We can fight this!"

"Maybe you're right," he pondered. The hold Sovereign had on him was weakening. "Maybe there is still a chance for...unh!" Saren grabbed his head in pain. "The implants... Sovereign is too strong. I'm sorry. It's too late for me."

Shepard moved out of cover against the protest of his squad mates. "It's not over yet! You can still redeem yourself!"

There was a moment of silence from Saren. A serenity of peace came across his face. "Goodbye, Shepard. Thank you." Saren took his pistol and aimed for his head. He pulled the trigger, blowing a hole through his head. His last moment of defiance against his Reaper master. The glow from his eyes faded. Saren stumbled on his feet and fell from his platform onto the gorund. His body fell through the glass below and landed on the garden below the platform.

Shepard ran over to the holographic screen and activated his omni-tool. He uploaded the data he got from Vigil into the MCU. The Citadel's controls appeared on his omni-tool. "Vigil's data file worked," he said to his squad. They looked overwhelmingly relieved. "I've got control of all systems."

"Quick! Open the station's arms," Ash suggested. "Maybe the fleet can take down Sovereign down before he regains control of the station!"

"See if you can open a communications channel," Garrus also suggested.

Shepard went with Garrus' suggestion and opened communications.

An Asari voice came on. "...the Destiny Ascension. Main drives offline. Kinetic barriers down 40%. The Council is on board. I repeat, the Council is on board."

"Normandy to the Citadel," Joker's voice piped in. "Normandy to the Citadel. Please tell me that's you, Commander."

"I'm here, Joker," he answered.

"We caught that distress call, Commander. I'm sitting here in the Andura sector with the entire Arcturus fleet. We can save the Ascension. Just unlock the relays around the Citadel and we'll send the cavalry in!"

"Are you willing to sacrifice human lives to save the same Council who impeded us every step of the way?" Wrex asked him.

"This is bigger than Humanity!" Tali joined in the argument. "Sovereign is a threat to every species!"

"Tali's right," Liara said. "We still need the Council."

"The Council must be sacrificed for the greater good," Garrus agreed with Wrex. "Don't waste your reinforcements. Hold them back until the Citadel arms open up. Save the human fleet to attack Sovereign."

"What's the order, Commander?" Joker asked for clarification. It was hard to know Shepard's attention with the argument going on. "Come in now to save the Ascension or hold back?"

The Council stood in his way so many times during his investigation. If they had listened to him none of this would have happened. To save them could very well risk the Reapers returning. That would make things harder for his galaxy as it could put too much pressure on them. Billions could die.

But... he remembered what Vigil said. The leaders of the Protheans were killed first causing the rest of the galaxy to go into disarray. As imperfect as they were, the Council weren't just politicians. They were symbols of order and justice in the galaxy. The watch them die, could destroy the galaxy's spirit and engender hatred towards the Humans for not acting to save them. The risk was large, but sometimes to save everything... you have to be willing to sacrifice it all.

"Opening the relays now, Joker. We need to save the Ascension—no matter what the cost!"

"I hope the Council is thankful for this," Wrex grumbled.

VVVVVV

The relay activated and dozens of ships appeared.

"Alliance ships move in," Hackett ordered. "Save the Destiny Ascension!"

The Normandy headed the fleet as they dove into the battle.

"Commander," the Asari navigator called to her CO. "We're picking up reinforcements!"

"It's the Alliance!" she cheered. "Thank the Goddess!"

The Geth ships around the Destiny Ascension were preparing to fire their fire volley. Alliance torpedoes flew in and demolished the Geth ships before they could finish off the Asari dreadnaught. Several cruisers were destroyed in their efforts to defend the prized Dreadnaught.

"Destiny Ascension, you are all clear," Joker said to her CO. "I repeat, you are all clear."

"The Citadel is opening!" Hackett said over the comm. "All ships move in. Concentrate on Sovereign!"

The Alliance ships moved through the arms and towards Sovereign.

VVVVVV

Shepard and his squad looked down at Saren's corpse. "Make sure he's dead," he ordered them.

They jumped down below while Shepard worked at making sure Sovereign couldn't get back into the Citadel's systems. For some odd reason, it hasn't made any attempts. Why?

Wrex approached the Turian's corpse and aimed with his pistol. He fired a round through his head. "He's dead," he confirmed over the comm.

The area started to shake. Red electricity surged all over along with a red haze. Saren's body started to glow red. His flesh melted off of his body. He even screamed during the transformation. The smell of his flesh was putrid. A flash of energy emerged from his body that caused his squad members to fly into the wall.

The shockwave broke the platform Shepard was standing on. It bent and Shepard slid down it into the area below. Saren was on his feet as the change occurred. His claws grew in length. As Shepard got to his feet, Saren's transformation had finished. All that was left was his synthetic skeleton. His jaw was missing. It wasn't Saren anymore. It was Sovereign!

Sovereign started jumping around the walls. Avoiding their gun fire. "I am Sovereign," it said in a mixture of Saren's voice and Sovereign's. "And this station is MINE!"

"He's moving too damn fast!" Ash yelled.

"It's dodging my shots," Liara exclaimed.

"Garrus, Tali!" Shepard called to them. "Use overload to take down his shields!"

They followed through, but Sovereign's shields were enormous. He picked up a boulder with his biotics and threw it at Sovereign while he was firing what appeared to be carnage shots. The rock collided with a carnage shot at close range. The explosion took down the rest of his shields.

The squad took the opportunity and shot Sovereign with everything they had. The battle outside the tower didn't sound like it was going so well. Shepard could hear it over the comm.

"Sovereign's too strong!" a commander yelled. "We have to pull back!"

"Negative!" Hackett roared. "This is our only chance! Take that monster down, no matter the cost!"

Sovereign's shield fully charged again. It roared and an energy pulse emitted from it. It was ever more powerful than the one during its transformation. Shepard blocked it with a biotic barrier but the others were knocked into the walls, injuring them too much to get up right away. It was down to him.

A glow emanated from his side. It was his sword. The crystal was glowing. He extended its blade. Shepard charged forward and locked his blade with Sovereign's claws. "Your galaxy will fall as will this one," it said in a whispered tone.

"Never!" Shepard roared.

He knocked Sovereign back and launched a warp at him which slowed it down. Shepard charged forth and stabbed his blade through Sovereign's chest. It just froze. "N-No!" Energy emitted from the blade itself. This green energy did not come from Shepard, but the blade. It dissolved the Reaper around the blade. Shepard sliced Sovereign up the center. It turned into dust just moments after.

VVVVVV

Sovereign's body was covered with red electricity before it dissipated. Sovereign fell from the tower.

"Its shields are down!" Joker said. "Now's our chance!"

The Normandy flew under the falling corpse and straight upwards.

"Hit it with everything we got!" Hackett ordered.

The cruisers realigned and continued their barrage. The Normandy did a backwards flip and dove straight down towards Sovereign.

"Hold on my flank!" Joker yelled. "I'm going in!"

Several fighters joined alongside Joker. The Normandy and the fighters fired their weapons. The Normandy's torpedo went right through Sovereign's abdomen. The attack caused a chain reaction causing its body to explode. Though one piece of Sovereign was heading straight towards the tower.

VVVVVV

Shepard's squad finished climbing from the area below. Shepard looked back and saw the Sovereign leg heading straight for them. "Move!" he yelled to his squad.

The leg impacted the tower.

VVVVVV

"You have done well," the Oracle said to him.

John just became aware that he was in the spirit realm. "Is this the Trial of Metamorphosis?"

"I'm afraid not. You are still alive, just knocked out. I'll be fair. The Trial of Metamorphosis will occur in a month's time."

"And then I'll be dead for two years."

"Yes."

"How do I come back?"

"Cerberus rebuilds you."

"What?" he roared. "Them? No! Do they know who I am?"

"No, they do not. Cerberus will learn of the Reapers, and after your death, they will understand that you are the only hope this galaxy has against the Reapers. They will bring you back. With the help of your allies."

"Who?"

"You know."

"Right... Them."

"This will give you the opportunity to bring Cerberus to justice while saving the galaxy."

"And I'll be closer to them than I've ever been."

"Yes."

"Before I go back, tell me. What happened with my sword?"

"The sword was being used for its true purpose. I crafted it for your people eons ago for the sole purpose of ending the Reapers. This sword is very special as it emits an energy signature that eats away at a Reaper. The energy, though, dissipates quickly over long range, making it only suitable at short range. Such as for a sword. The sword is constantly evolving and growing. It itself is a living being. A being whose purpose is to end the Reapers. Now go. Fulfill your destiny."

VVVVVV

A scrap of Sovereign was torn away and an Alliance soldier pointed his omni-tool, with its flashlight activated inside the heap. He spotted Shepard's squad. Tired, but mostly unharmed. "Captain Anderson!" he called out. "We've found them! They're in here."

Anderson moved in and went to Tali. "Take it easy," he said in a jolly tone. "It's over. You're safe now. Where's the Commander? Where's Shepard?"

Tali looked over to the wreckage of Sovereign. Anderson's eyes went over to there as well. "I-I don't think he- he-" she couldn't even finish the sentence. "John. Oh Keelah, John!"

The other soldier helped the squad to their feet. Anderson helped Tali to her feet. She quickly brushed him away and went towards the wreckage. She used her omni-tool to scan the area. "We have to find him. We have to find John!"

Anderson felt sorry for her. It was obvious she really cared for him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw some movement behind the wreckage. 'Could it?'

Shepard ran up the side of the wreckage and appeared at the top. His arm was hurt, but he was in high spirits with a large grin on his face. Tali look up at him with joy in her heart. He walked down the other side of the wreckage.

"John!" she screamed as she embraced him.

"Tali..." he whispered. "It's okay. I'm here."

They held each other not caring that the others could see them in full view. Anderson and Garrus both had wide grins. Liara and Ash were wide-eye. Wrex just let out a small chuckle. The battle was won.

VVVVVV

Shepard, Udina and Anderson stood on the Presidium with the Council. "Ambassador," Tevos greeted. "Captain. Commander Shepard. We have gathered here to recognize the enormous contributions of the Alliance forces in the war against Sovereign and the Geth."

"Many humans lost their lives in the battle to save the Citadel, brave and courageous soldiers who willing sacrificed their lives so that we—the Council—might live," the Salarian Councilor continued.

"There is no greater sacrifice, and we share your grief over the tragic loss of so many noble men and women," Velarn said.

"The Council owes you a great personal debt, Commander," Tevos said. "One we can never repay. You saved not just our lives, but the lives of billions from Sovereign and the Reapers."

"Commander Shepard," the Salarian started, "your heroic actions serve as a symbol of everything Humanity and the Alliance stands for."

'While I might not be Human,' Shepard thought to himself. 'I know this is Humanity. They are a good people.'

"And though we cannot bring back those valiant soldiers who gave their lives to save ours, we can honor their memories through our actions," Velarn said.

"Humanity has shown it is ready to stand as a defender and protector of the galaxy," Tevos concluded. "You have proved you are worthy to join our ranks and serve beside us on the Citadel Council."

"Councilor, on behalf of Humanity and the Alliance, we thank you for this prestigious honor and humbly accept," Udina thanked.

"We will need a list of potential candidates to fill Humanity's seat on the Council. Given all that has happened, I am sure your recommendation will carry a great deal of weight, Commander. Do you support any particular candidate?"

"We need someone with the courage to stand up for what he believes in," Shepard answered. "Someone like Captain Anderson."

"Him?" Udina scoffed. "You must be joking. Are you sure about this? Anderson is a soldier not a politician."

'You put politics and personal gain over the survival of the galaxy, asshole,' he thought to himself. 'Anderson believed in me.'

"We've already have too many politicians on the Citadel. The Captain would be perfect for this job."

"I think it's an inspired choice," Tevos replied. "The Council would welcome him with open arms, should he accept."

"I'm honored, Councilor," he said. "As humanity's representative I'll do everything in my power to help the Council rebuild."

"Sovereign's defeat marks the beginning of a new era for both Humanity and the Council," Velarn commented.

"Sovereign was only a vanguard," Shepard announced. "The Reaper fleet is still coming. Hundreds of ships maybe even thousands. And I'm going to find some way to stop them!"

With those final words, Shepard left the area.

"Shepard's right!" Anderson bellowed. "Humanity is ready to do its part. United with the rest of the Council we have the strength to overcome any challenge. When the Reapers come, we must stand side-by-side. We must fight against them as one. And together we will drive them back into dark space!"

VVVVVV

Shepard was dressed in his casual Alliance uniform. He was heading towards Flux. While moving down the corridor he spotted Wrex leaning against the wall. "Hey, Wrex. Good to see that you've healed up."

"It'll take more than a ship to take me down."

"So what are you doing here?"

"Came here to talk to you. I'm going to be leaving the Normandy crew."

"Oh..."

"During the mission with you I have come to realize that we Krogan can still create a future for ourselves. Time to stop living in the past. I'm heading back to Tuchanka. Try to reunite the Krogan clans."

Shepard patted him on the shoulder. "I wish you the best of luck. It has been an honor fighting by your side."

A grin came across Wrex's face. "Likewise, Shepard. Though the way things are going with the Reapers, we'll likely be fighting side-by-side in the future. My people need to be ready for when that day comes."

"If you need anything, just give me a call."

Wrex released a small chuckle. "You gave me a reason to keep fighting for my people. Fight well, Shepard." With those words, Wrex walked out of the corridor.

Shepard entered inside of Flux with a slight smile. The only people inside was Garrus, Tali and Chakwas. Each of them waiting for his arrival. He sat down at their table. "Thank you all for coming. I just wanted to express how much I appreciate you three in keeping my secret. I even know how much of a leap of faith you are taking with me. I want to show you three just how much I trust you. If you all are willing, tomorrow, I wish to take you to visit my galaxy."

The three were stunned by the idea. "You're serious?" Garrus muttered.

"Very. We can go to Nexus."

"Nexus?" Chakwas repeated.

"It's basically my galaxy's version of the Citadel, in terms of purpose. So you three in?"

"A chance to see another galaxy?" "How could I say no?"

"You don't even need to ask me," Tali replied.

"Count me in," Garrus added.

"I'm glad to hear it. There's also some more news. When I was briefly knocked out after the fight with Sovereign, the Oracle contacted me. The Trial of Metamorphosis begins in one month."

This elicited a gasp from Tali. "So- So this means you're going to die in a month?"

"Yes. But I will be back. She told me that it will be because of Cerberus and several operatives of mine that will bring me back."

"Cerberus!" they all said.

"Yes. I hated the though too, but the more I think about it the more it plays into our favor. I'll be closer to taking down Cerberus than ever before, and I'm sure it'll take a lot of their resources to bring me back. Kill two birds with one stone, eh?" Shepard noticed Tali bowing her head. "Tali..." He cupped the side of her helmet to get her to look at him. "I know this will be hard, but I will come back. I promise."

"And you always keep your promises."

"That I do, love."

"Though our visit to Nexus isn't just a vacation, though we all deserve some R&R. I'm going to knight both of you."

"Knight?" Garrus muttered.

"I'm bringing back the Guardian Knight Order. They are sort of like Spectres. Only they are regulated in that they have a code to uphold. Tali, Garrus, you two will be the first Knights in fifty thousand years."

"I don't know what to say. Thanks."

"You both have earned it. As a knight you will operate outside the chain of command of the Guardian army and will have our resources at your disposal. During my... two year absence, you will still have access to our resources. This will help make things easier for the next couple of years."


	17. Nexus

Chapter 15: Nexus

The dock that the rented spaceship was docked at was empty of all personnel. It was early in the morning which meant Shepard could leave with Garrus, Chakwas and Tali without having to answer any questions, either from the dock workers or reporters. John was walking up the walkway towards the spaceship hand-in-hand with Tali. Garrus and Chakwas were already on board.

"You okay, Tali?"

"Yes," she replied. "I'm just a little nervous."

"About what?" he asked in amusement.

"You mean other than going to another galaxy?"

"Right..."

"It's just that I want to make a good impression."

"Just be yourself and you'll be fine. Now," he said in a humorous tone, "are you coming or," he moved his face close to her visor, "am I going to have to drag you there?"

"Mmm... You might have to make me," she said in a seductive but playful tone.

John grabbed her hands and held them firmly but not enough to be uncomfortable. John started to pull and Tali resisted in moving; just enough to slow them. The act was playful and made the two smile.

"Well... I'm going to have to change tactics to get you to come on board."

"And what are you going- Ah!" Shepard interrupted her by quickly scooping her up in his arms, one arm under her knees and the other behind her back, and carry her to the ship. "You bosh'tet!" She kicked and softly pounded his chest until they got on board. Tali relented and just relaxed.

"So we heading out are do you two need some more time?" Garrus asked the two.

"We're good," John replied. "I'll get us going."

The flight took around five hours to reach the Hydra system. There the wormhole existed. It was a large distortion in the fabric of space, like the ripples on still water. It was a beautiful sight.

"That's the wormhole?" Tali asked.

"Yes. You can see how it could be easily missed. Unless you have special sensors, you run into it or know where it is, it can be easily missed. Are all of you ready?"

His three friends nodded.

"Then let's do this."

John engaged the thrusters and flew the ship right into the distortion. Everything around the ship glowed bright white light with a slight blue hue. The group had to look away due to its brightness. The light finally dimmed revealing to them a large blue gas giant.

"This is..." Garrus said but stopping himself.

"My galaxy," John replied.

"Where do we go from here?" Chakwas asked.

"Unknown vessel," a voice, that spoke galactic standard, said over the comm. "This is the GSV Scylla. Identify yourself or we will be forced to impound your vessel."

John activated the ship's comm system to answer back. "This is Supreme Commander John Shepard. Authorization code: 523-Treyo-Nak'ka-Zun."

There was a silence.

"Sir!" the voice said back. "It is an honor to be speaking with you. I apologize for using your time."

"You were following procedure, soldier. What's your name?"

"Captain Tev'ra Hiy. Praetorin. Now I'm detecting several other life signs in your vessel."

"Guests of mine. Garrus Vakarian. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. Helena Chakwas."

"Cloak is turning off and you made fly into our cargo bay."

A large vessel appeared before them as its invisibility cloak disengaged. It was a cruiser class vessel.

"Spirits..." Garrus gasped. "Ships that can go literally invisible."

Shepard flew their spaceship into the large cargo bay that opened up to them. Garrus and Tali were glued to the windows as they approached the advance cruiser. They landed inside the sizable cargo bay. Immediately the bay door shut close and the area pressurized.

"Deck has been pressurized and is now safe to leave," Shepard announced to his friends.

They followed John out of the ship. Several tall soldiers entered the cargo bay. Each of them were reptilian beings clad in armor. They marched up to the group of four. Tali, Garrus and Chakwas still were uneasy at the approaching group of soldiers. The Praetorin with the longest spikes on the back of its head approached John and immediately saluted him. The other soldiers followed right after.

"It is an honor to be in your presence, Commander."

"Captain Hiy, I presume?"

"You are correct, Commander. We've heard news of the victory against Sovereign. Congratulations."

"We still have a war ahead, but we are on the track towards victory."

"Now what do we owe the pleasure of having you back?"

"I am reestablishing the Knights Order and I am going to knight Garrus Vakarian and Tali'Zorah nar Rayya."

"Considering circumstances, a wise decision." Tev'ra looked to Garrus, Chakwas and Tali. He bowed his head out of respect. "An honor to meet the three of you." He looked back to Shepard. "We can take you all to the bridge. Travel to Nexus will take roughly ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?" Garrus barked. "Just how far away is Nexus?"

"It's almost on the other side of the galaxy," one of the soldiers answered.

"How's that even possible?"

"All of our ships can create temporary wormholes which we use to traverse extremely long distances almost instantaneously."

John's group followed the soldiers into the bridge where they got a large view of the space before them. The navigator mumbled something in his native tongue. She then announced to the bridge, "Preparing jump. 3... 2... 1... Go!"

An object was shot out of the ship. Everyone's eyes watched as it approached its target point. It exploded and a large distortion appeared before them. It looked like the wormhole the four traveled through to reach this galaxy.

"Entering event horizon."

The ship entered the distortion. The glass of the bridge tinted to decrease the brightness of the wormhole travel.

"John, what happens to this wormhole after we use it?" Tali asked.

"It blinks out of existence," he replied. "The negative energy bombs we use to open these wormholes are set to allow us to travel through and then the energy is expelled and the wormhole no longer keeps open. Though we always make sure we add another 50% to travel time to make sure the wormhole doesn't collapse on us."

The travel didn't feel like ten minute. With the beautiful view they had, that ten minutes went by quickly. The travel ended and the Scylla exited the wormhole. The sight before them was magnificent. (.com/art/Nexus-195289591) Nexus was an enormous structure that consisted of six rings that composed a sphere. Five rings came together in a star formation whereas the sixth ring went along the center of the sphere. The sixth carried the center structure which stretched across the center and two towers, one on top and one on the bottom that connected the convergence point of the five rings. Nexus was stationed between three stars. One red, one blue and one yellow.

"Keelah..." Tali muttered.

"Spirits..." Garrus said under his breath.

"My god..." Chakwas gasped.

"Welcome to Nexus," the Captain greeted.

VVVVVV

Shepard and his friends walked towards the Galactic Order's Chamber. The excitement his three friends showed were beyond enthused.

"This place is amazing!" Tali said. "It's enormous!"

"It makes the Citadel look like Omega," Garrus joked.

"How big is this station?" Chakwas asked.

"In terms of mass, it is four times heavier than the Citadel," John answered.

They walked by a window and saw dozens of scientists working on what appeared to be ship remains.

"Whoa!" Garrus exclaimed. "Are my eyes deceiving me, or are those remains of Sovereign?"

"You are correct," John answered. "Several operatives on the Citadel collected some remains and brought them back here for analysis. Anything we can learn from Sovereign can greatly aid the war effort. Though we only took enough to analysis. Didn't want to raise suspicion. Now you three ready to meet the Ministers?"

"As ready as we can be," Chakwas answered.

The doors opened before them into a small, but well design chamber. Tali made immediate notice of the minimalist use of space for the chamber. The Council Chamber was so immense in comparison. Very wasteful of space. Here it was a good amount of space to hold meetings. Her eyes were then drawn to the individuals who stood at their podiums. These races were so different from her galaxy. They also seemed happier. Very odd considering all they face twenty years ago. John did explain to her that the races of this galaxy see themselves as one people with different cultures. Despite their differences, they work towards the betterment of themselves.

"Welcome back, Commander," the Rak'en Minister greeted. "We've read over your report. We are very impressed. This blow against the Reapers will buy us the time we need to finish the construction of our fleet."

"Thank you, Ministers," Shepard said humbly. "But I could not have done it without my crew and loyal friends."

"I see you've brought a few of them here," the Rasitian Minister chirped in. "Spirits bless you for assisting him in his mission."

"We will continue assisting him in his mission," Garrus said.

"We've also read in your report that during your mission, you struck a mighty blow against Cerberus," the Exion Minister mentioned.

"Many of their bases lay in ruin and I've managed to download many of their files," John said. "I sent one copy to the Systems Alliance and here. Hopefully the information will prove vital to ending them. Though I've already forwarded my decision to reestablish the Galactic Knights."

"Yes. If you wish, we can proceed right now. Your actions will be official."

John nodded and turned to Tali and Garrus. "Step forward. And go down on one knee."

The two walked up to him and went down on one knee and bowed their heads. John took out Nemain. He light touched both of Garrus' shoulders with the flat of his blade and declared, "From hence forth you shall be known as Ser Garrus Vakarian." John turned his attention to Tali and did the same to her. "From hence forth you shall be known as Ser Tali'Zorah. You two may stand." They did so right away.

"You are now Galactic Knights. Your loyalties are not to me, nor to the Order; it is to the people. To protect them from the evils that emerge from the shadows. Never shall an innocent be needlessly sacrificed in the pursuit of justice. Never shall you give into your fears and allow it to control you. Your strength is derived from your willpower and morality. Congratulations to the two of you."

"We won't let you down," Tali said.

"I know you two won't. The resources of the Guardians are open to you, so if you ever be in any help during my two-year absence, do not hesitate to ask. Now how about a tour of Nexus? I'm sure you three are dying to have a look around."

VVVVVV

Hours have passed since their knighthood. John managed to take them to a lot of the main locations around Nexus. Every where they went they encountered fans of Shepard. He wasn't just a hero to them. John was a savior.

Their stay at the station would last for another several days before they went back to their home galaxy. Back to the grim reminder of Shepard's imminent demise. This thought occasionally drifted through Tali's head. The thought of watching him die. The thought of not seeing him for a couple of years. She didn't know if she could bare it. Tali was alone with her thoughts on an observation deck on Nexus. The view overlooked the other side of Nexus and the blue and red stars. The door behind her opened. It was John. His meeting with the Ministers was complete.

John walked up behind her and wrapped his arms her waist and held her against himself and rested his chin on her right shoulder. Tali's hands rest on his. "Hey," he said.

"Hey," she replied in a somber tone. "Your meeting's finished?"

"Yeah." John looked at the view. "Beautiful isn't it?"

"Yes. There's nothing in our galaxy that can ever compare to this station. It's so advance and beautifully designed. It's almost as if your race focused on being artistic while designing this station."

"In a way yes," he replied. "This station took close to two hundred years to create. Articians are an expressive specie, and most of the time our expression is through our art. We tried incorporating it in every facet of our culture and architecture." Tali's right hand went up to his face and he nuzzled it. "Now what are you thinking about up here?"

"The Trial of Metamorphosis," she replied plainly.

"Oh..."

"It's just knowing you're going to die in a month scares me."

"But I will come back."

"After two years. We finally are honest about our love for each other and now I have to lose you for two years. It tears my heart apart with that knowledge."

Shepard gently turned her around and took off her visor so he could look into her eyes. It was evident that she shed some tears over the thought. "Tali, you know me better than anyone in two galaxies. You know that I don't make promises I don't think I can keep. I promise you I will come back. My love for you will be even stronger. And I promise you that when I come back, I will make up for lost time. I'll make up for the sadness you'll bare."

Those words brought a smile to her face. He has never broken his word to her. She knew he meant every bit of it. Tali moved forward and kissed him while the stars blazed in the distance.

VVVVVV

One Month Later...

There were fires all over the Normandy. It was attacked by an unknown vessel. Most of the crew managed to get off, including Tali. She hesitated to leave for an escape pod at first, but Shepard simply said to her, "I'll come back! I promise." Tali left for the escape pod with Shepard's most valuable possession. Nemain.

Now John was hulling Joker towards the last escape pod which was situated behind the cockpit. He managed to get Joker inside, but an explosion knocked Shepard off of his feet. Shepard flew back and grabbed onto a wall next to the control pad. The beam from the vessel struck through the ship hull and went between Shepard and Joker. This was the moment he dreaded for most of his life. It was his time to die.

"Goodbye, Joker," he said. "Godspeed."

"Shepard!" Joker yelled.

Another explosion knocked Shepard away, but he was able to hit the launch button before floating out of the ship. Finally the Normandy blew apart.

John felt burns all over his body from the blast. The pain was unbearable. He heard a hiss in his suit and realized that his oxygen tube was punctured. John tried in vain to block it. Oxygen levels dropped. His consciousness was starting to fade. Shepard could feel the warmth of the atmosphere of Alchera as he entered its atmosphere.

As everything started to go black, visions flashed through his head. First were of a Cerberus attack against the Migrant Fleet. The next was Tali on Freedom's Progress. Again her on a Quarian world called Haestrom. Images of newly recruited soldiers went through his mind. Salarian, Krogan, Drell, Thief, Mercenary... Finally it ended with an image of an angry Illusive Man.

John sat up in his bed hyperventilating. Tali woke up from his scream. "John, are you okay?"

"The time has come," he replied. "Today. There is much you need to know about the future."


	18. Awakened

Chapter 16: Awakened

Tali'Zorah was preparing for her next mission. She had been tense since she heard where it was going to be. Freedom's Progress. A Quarian by the name of Veetor sent a message from there saying he was in trouble. It was too vague to really understand what he meant by that. Tali was being sent there with a dozen marines to investigate and rescue him.

It has been two years since the day of his death. Now Shepard's vision was coming true. Now what is in doubt is whether or not she'll see him there. Tali reached for the prized possession John entrusted to her. Nemain.

Upon coming back from her Pilgrimage, she was close to losing it because it could be worth a lot to a collector of historical artifacts. Commander Shepard's sword would have been worth millions. Her father suggested it would be in the best interest of her people to allow the Fleet to sell it, but she refused to part with it. This earned the scorn of several officers who just saw a selfish girl clinging to her toys. Thankfully Shala intervened on her behalf. She understood that Shepard was her life-long friend and since she was refused entry to his funeral ceremony, due to the anti-Quarian C-Sec agents, the very least she deserves was to keep a possession that was given to her by Shepard.

Tali examined the staff end of the sword. She never could figure out how the blade extended from the staff. The blue crystal on the end was jagged but beautiful. The staff itself had several lines of writing that went along its length. It was in the Artician language so it was hopeless to try and decipher it.

Tali's omni-tool beeped several times. She activated it and realized it was a message. The sender was shown as unknown. Tali cautiously opened the message.

THE TIME OF AWAKENING HAS ARRIVED, SER TALI'ZORAH.

VVVVVV

A shot was fired killing the last Blue Suns mercenary in an ambush that was planned by Archangel and his vigilante corp. Credits were taken from the bodies. Archangel watched his soldiers destroy the drug shipment. One of his soldiers who wore a black cloak walked up to him. Her eyes glowed orange.

"Ser- Archangel," she said and corrected herself. "I have received a message over the subspace network."

"And the message?"

"He has awakened."

VVVVVV

"Shepard, wake up!" a voice screeched over the rooms speaker. It was the same one he heard the first time he woke up. Miranda. "I need you to wake up! This facility is under attack!"

John's eyes slowly opened. Pain shot through his body. He sat up and felt pain jolt in his rib. Shepard grabbed the area where it stung. Next was his jaw. He rubbed it. Shepard could feel the scars that haven't healed over. His mouth was very dry. Finally he could see the urgency. There were gunfights happening all around him.

"Your scars haven't healed yet, Shepard. You need to grab your armor and weapon from the locker next to you."

Shepard jumped to his feet. And pulled open the locker. Inside was Kestrel armor and a standard pistol. He put the armor on as fast as he could. Shepard forgo putting the helmet on. Despite its HUD system, he still felt it was too restrictive. He needed to show his face when talking to people. Shepard didn't want to go speak to them using a mouth of a helmet. He examined the pistol and realized, "You gave me a pistol without a thermal clip."

"It's a med bay-" It looked like the woman was viewing the room remotely because she noticed the gas canisters that were on fire. "Shit! Get to some cover!"

Shepard duck down behind the operating table and heard the tanks explode. He looked back and saw the explosion created a large hole in the doors.

"Why the hell you would give me a pistol without a thermal clip?" he demanded while moving towards the hole.

"Security procedure," she replied quickly. "Look, Shepard, I need you to trust me. I need to get you out of here alive. Someone hacked security to try and kill you. Just try and find a thermal clip."

Luckily there happened to be a thermal clip on the other side of the hole. Shepard picked it up and loaded it into his pistol. 'Why was I so rude? I don't really need a pistol to defend myself. Oh, yeah. I'm in a Cerberus base.'

Shepard entered the next room and saw a barricade. Miranda made mention of the barricade. Did she think he was blind? She then warned him of the single mech.

Shepard raised his hand and enveloped the mech in dark energy and flung it across the room. He continued up the stairs into a lab. Sparks flew from the door crack.

"Shepard, mechs are closing in on your position! Don't take any chances. Get to some cover."

Shepard merely smiled. The door opened revealing a couple of mechs. Three more came from the room on the left. He waited behind cover until they were all grouped together. Shepard vaulted over his cover and biotically charged at the group. They were blown away to pieces.

Shepard moved forward, seeing the battle go on around the station. He entered a room and found himself on an overlook. There was a grenade launcher and a dead body there.

"Here come the mechs!" Miranda notified him. "Use that grenade launcher against them."

Shepard sighed. 'Is she honestly talking to him like he's some recruit?' "Any over helpful hints?" he remarked. "Like it's best to aim the barrel away from you? Or pulling trigger makes things go boom?"

"I'm just trying to help."

"No, you're talking down to me like I just entered boot camp," he said while firing a grenade at the group of mechs. "I appreciate the thought of trying to help me escape, I do, but I have been a soldier for as long as I remember." He walked onto the elevator. "I know about taking cover. I know about destroying everything that stands in my way. The help I require is which way to go."

Miranda let out a small chuckle. "Very well. I apologize. You are heading the right away. And- Damn it I got mechs closing in on me!" The radio went quiet.

Shepard doubled time it until he discovered a battle underway. A soldier was taking cover, firing at some mechs. Shepard fired a pistol round, destroying the head of one of the mechs. He slid into cover next to the guy.

"Shepard?" he gasped. "What are you doing here? I thought you were a work in progress."

"I just woke up," he replied. "You probably have a better grasp on the situation than I do."

"Right, sorry about that," he apologized. "I'm Jacob Taylor. I've been stationed here-"

A round skid across his cover barely missing him.

"Damn it!" he cursed. Jacob jumped out of cover and blew the head off of one of the mechs with his pistol. "Things must be worst off if Miranda has you running around. I'll fill you in, but first we should get you to the shuttle."

"It's your station, I'll follow you."

"First step—let's finish off these metal bastards. I'm a biotic, so just tell me when you want me to hit them with the good stuff."

Shepard took a deep breath and stood up. He used his biotics to lift the bench next to them and threw it as hard as his biotics could at the mechs ahead. All, but one, were crushed under the bench. Shepard took his pistol and blew its head off.

"Damn, Shepard... Remind me not to piss you off." Jacob holstered his pistol. "You ready to get the hell off of this station?"

"What's the quickest way to those shuttles?"

"Depends where the mechs are thickest. It's probably bets if we-"

A voice over the radio interrupted him. "Check. Check. Anyone on this frequency? Anybody still out there? Hello?"

"Wilson?" Jacob answered. "This is Jacob. I'm here with Commander Shepard. Just took out a wave of mechs in D wing."

"Shepard's awake? Good, good. You need to get him the hell out of there. Get to the service tunnels and head for the network control room."

"Roger that, Wilson. Stay on this frequency."

"Let's get out of here," Shepard said.

"Right. The service tunnel is right through this door."

They went through the door and found the room filled with mechs.

"Sonofa!" Jacob cursed as the two shot the mechs before them. "Wilson this room is crawling with mechs!"

"The whole station is crawling with mechs!" he yelled back. "I'm doing the best I can."

"Find us another route. Preferably one without mechs."

"Oh god they found me!" Wilson yelled over the comm. "Help!"

"Wilson, where are you?" Jacob asked while Shepard and he exited the room.

"Server room B. Hurry! They're out of control!"

Jacob and Shepard doubled timed it up the stairs. Server room B was right at the top of the stairs. Wilson was sitting up against a crate.

"Jacob! Shepard! Down here! Bastards got me in the leg."

"Hold on, I'll get you some medi-gel," Shepard said as he walked over to the medical locker. He took out several vials of medi-gel. Shepard went to Wilson and applied some medi-gel to his gun wound.

"Thanks, Shepard," he said as he got to his feet. "I guess that makes us even. I was trying to see if I could deactivate the security mechs from here when the mech got me in the leg."

"We weren't asking what you doing," Jacob said in an accusing tone. "You don't even have security mech clearance. You were in the bio-wing."

"Weren't you listening? I was trying to fix this. Besides, I was shot! How do you explain that?"

"I don't know who either of you are, so frankly you both suspicious to me," Shepard interrupted. "For now we get the hell out of here and then we sort things out."

"We need to find Miranda first."

"Forget about Miranda!" Wilson said. "She was over in D wing. The mechs were all over that sector. There's no way she survived."

"A bunch of mechs won't drop Miranda. She's alive."

"Then where is she? Why haven't we heard from her? There are only two explanations. Either she's dead or she's a traitor."

"She was guiding me earlier to safety, so that rules out traitor," Shepard said.

"Okay, maybe not traitor, but the chances of her being alive are slim. You're more important to get out alive than Miranda. We shouldn't risk going to look for-" The doors on the other side of the room opened revealing a group of mechs. "Ah, shit!"

The three ducked into cover. Wilson activated his omni-tool and overloaded the canisters, destroying the group of mechs.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Shepard ordered. He was walking to the door when Jacob chirped in.

"We took them down, but this is getting intense. Shepard, if I tell you who we're working for, will you trust us?"

"This really isn't the time, Jacob," Wilson cautioned.

"We're not going to get through this if he's expecting to be shot in the back."

"If you want to piss off the boss, then it's your head."

"The Lazarus project, the program that rebuilt you... Is a Cerberus initiative."

"I know," Shepard said in an irritated grumble.

"You do?" Jacob said while doing a double take. "How?"

Shepard pointed to one of dozens of Cerberus emblems that littered the building. "Your organization has an odd obsession with pasting their emblems over everything. You'd have to be blind not to realize this is Cerberus."

"Right... The Alliance gave you up for dead. Cerberus spent a fortune to bring you back. Look, I'd be suspicious too. But right now we need to work together. I just thought you deserved to know. Apparently I was too slow to tell you. Once we're off the station, we'll take you to the Illusive Man. He'll explain everything. I promise."

"You shouldn't make promises for a man who goes by a synonym of "the deceiving man", very foolhardy. Let's just get out of here."

The three went into the shuttle bay. With the crates scattered all around, Shepard and Jacob were able to use them with their biotics to crush the several groups of mechs effortlessly. They went towards the launch room.

"Come on, the shuttle is right through-" The doors opened before him. Miranda stood there with an angry look on her face. "Miranda, I thought you were de-" Bang! Miranda fired a round in his neck.

"Dead?"

"What the hell are you doing?" Jacob demanded.

"My job," she replied plainly. "Wilson betrayed us all."

"We should have taken him in for questioning," Shepard said.

"Too risky. I spent two years on this project, and I wasn't about to risk it to bring him in."

"You further risked it by not," Shepard pointed out. "Now we have no idea if he was working for someone, if there are more agents, or what his motivations were. By killing him you destroyed all possibilities of finding out!" He crouched down and activated his omni-tool.

"What are you doing?" Miranda asked.

"Since you killed Wilson, I'm downloading his omni-tool files to see if I can find anything. After I get the files, then you can take me to see the Illusive Man."

Miranda sighed. "Ah, Jacob. I should have known your conscious would get the better of you."

"Actually, he figured it out on his own," Jacob said.

"How?"

"Your trademarks are all over the station, Cerberus is not known for subtlety" Shepard said while finishing up the download. "Alright, download's down. Let's get out of here."

VVVVVV

The shuttle flew away from the Lazarus station and made a jump towards its destination. Shepard stared out of the window of the shuttle.

"Before we meet with the Illusive Man, we need to ask a few questions to evaluate your condition," Miranda notified Shepard.

"Come on, Miranda," Jacob pleaded. "More tests? Shepard took down those mechs effortlessly. That has to be good enough."

"It's been two years since the attack," Miranda said. "The Illusive Man needs to know that Shepard's personality and memories are intact. Ask the questions."

"Commander," Shepard muttered.

"What?"

"It's Commander Shepard. You haven't used my title once."

Miranda sighed. "The sooner we start the sooner we can get it over with." She looked to Jacob. "Start with personal history."

"Okay," Jacob relented. "Records show you have no known history before you crash landed on Mindoir, other than you were a child soldier. No known parents or friends. Slavers came one day to attack your colony but you took a stand and defended a Quarian shelter which almost cost you your life. You remember that?"

"I made a promise to those people at the shelter I would protect them. I always honor my promises."

"Very admirable. Most would have turned tail and run. You later enlisted and got a medal defending Elysium from Batarian slavers. Do you remember that?"

"A lot of lives depended on me holding that position. I did what I had to."

"However you wanted to put it, it was damn impressive. I had friends who were there." Jacob pulled up another file on his omni-tool. "About a year later your squad was sent to Akuze to investigate the colony and ended up being ambushed by a nest of Thresher Maws. You managed to get eighty percent of your squad out of there at the expense of sacrificing your seat on the shuttle to the last soldier in your squad. Do you remember that?"

"Yes, and you know what I also remember?"

"What?"

"That it turned out to be a Cerberus experiment to study Thresher Maws. An experiment that nearly cost my life. You have any idea how sour Thresher Maw meat is? So I ask you, are you okay with the idea with sending not one but two Alliance squads into a Thresher Maw nest?"

"There are certain actions I have disagreed with..."

"Right, a neutral answer. Carry on with your questions."

Jacob pulled up another file. "A year after that was the Battle of Torfan. You managed to distract the Batarian snipers using advance holograms while your squad flanked them with minimum casualties. After the battle was through, one of your officers was going to execute one of the Batarian prisoners, but you stopped him. Why?"

"Those slavers do deserve what's coming to them, death. After all the things they have done. But... Killing in cold blood is not the way. Allowing the execution to take place would have forever tainted him, and would allow his hatred, anger and fear to control him for the rest of his life. In short: I stopped him from becoming a monster."

"That is enlightening... Satisfied, Miranda?"

"Almost. Let's try something more recent. Virmire. Where you destroyed Saren's cloning facility. You had to leave one of your squad mates behind to die in the blast."

"Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko was killed in the blast," Jacob finished. "It was your call. Why did you leave him behind?"

"I left a friend of mine to die that day, and I did not do it casually. I had to save as many people as I could. Kaidan gave his life for the rest of the team. Without him, I wouldn't have been able to stop Saren. He died a hero."

"I understand, Commander. And I wasn't judging your decision. Everyone here at Cerberus knows that facility had to go."

"Shepard, think back to the Citadel," Miranda said, "after the Alliance saved the Destiny Ascension, and you killed Saren. What happened next?"

"Humanity was offered a spot on the Council. I recommended Captain Anderson for the position."

"Yes, Captain Anderson is now Councilor Anderson. Though from what I hear, he preferred life in the military."

"Still, good to know that the human Council member isn't going to put politics ahead of defense," Jacob commented.

"Your memory seems solid," Miranda said. "But there are other tests we should-"

"Come on, Miranda," Jacob said. "Enough with the quizzes. The memories are there and I can personally vouch for Shepard's combat skills personally."

"I suppose you're right. We'll have to hope the Illusive Man accepts our little field test as evidence enough."

VVVVVV

Tali's shuttle touched down on Freedom's Progress. There was no communication with the colony. It was very eerie. She caressed Nemain.

"Are you okay, Tali?" Nola asked. She wore a yellow environment suit.

"Yes," she replied.

"It's just you seemed a bit off since you heard we were heading here."

"Well, I'm, uh, expecting to meet someone here. Someone I haven't seen in a while."

"Maybe after we find Veetor you can look this person up."

"Yeah."

"Zorah," Prazza screeched. His voice alone set her on edge of her tolerance level. "We just saw Veetor run by. If we run now we can catch him!"

"Then let's do it."

The squad followed the footprints in the snow to go after Veetor. They watched him run around the corner of a pre-fab unit. Tali's squad went around and saw a couple dozen LOKI mechs. All of them had their weapons aimed at them. They started firing at them.

"Fall back!" Tali ordered. "We'll find another way around."

The squad double backed into an alley way and went into a pre-fab unit. They tried to catch their breath. Luckily none of them got hit by the

"Why was Veetor running away from us?" Prazza asked out loud. "Why did he reprogram those mechs to attack? Where are the Human colonists?"

"We'll have to wait about answering those questions," Tali said. "We need to come up with a plan to get around these mechs and find Veetor. Zoa, bring me up a layout of this colony."

VVVVVV

Shepard walked into a darkened room with a blue ring on the floor. As soon as he stepped onto the ring a scan activated. 'A Quantum Entanglement Device,' he thought to himself. 'Another piece of technology you stole from us. Bastards.'

There Shepard saw the man he hated for so long. The Illusive Man. His hair had gone grey since the last time they met. He sat in a chair in front of a view of a dying sun. TIM took a puff of his cigarette. "Commander Shepard," he said while releasing the smoke from his lungs.

"Illusive Man," Shepard said back. "I thought we'd be meeting face-to-face."

"A necessary precaution. Not unusual for people who know what we know."

Smart, but cowardly. If the Illusive Man was before him, Shepard didn't think he could restrain himself from beating the man half to death. He wouldn't kill him outright. TIM would be brought in to face justice at the hands of his people. They deserve that much.

"What exactly do 'you and I know'?"

"That our place in the universe is more fragile than we'd like to think. That one man—one specific man—is all that stands between humanity and the greatest threat in our brief existence."

"The Reapers."

"Good to see that your memory's still intact. How are you feeling?"

"Skip the pleasantries. You have tried to have me killed at least a dozen times during my investigation into Saren and now you're saying that I may be this galaxy's greatest hope for survival. A bit hypocritical, is it not?"

"I never issued an order for your death. Far from it. As humanity's first Spectre, you are far more valuable alive. The cells you attacked were following their own directives and thought you were an Alliance soldier trying to shut them down. I had no involvement in their attempts to kill you. I'd appreciate it if we focus on the now and look pass the feelings you may have for me or this organization."

"What are the Reapers doing that prompted you to bring me back?"

"We're at war. No one wants to admit it, but Humanity is under attack. While you've been sleeping, entire colonies have been disappearing. Human colonies. We believe it is someone working for the Reapers. Just as Saren and the Geth aided Sovereign. You've seen it yourself. You bested all of them. That's just one reason we chose you."

"Sovereign was trying to harvest all life in the galaxy."

"Tens of thousands of humans have gone missing. I'd say that fits the definition of harvesting. The attacks have been random and isolated. Blaming the attacks on mercenaries or pirates is simple for the Alliance."

It made sense that the Reapers would try going after the Humans first. Shepard hated to say it, "If what you say is true. That the Reapers are behind this... I'd consider helping you." He reminded himself over and over that this is just to get to the goal of taking this organization down.

"I'd be disappointed if you just took me at my word. I have a shuttle to take you to Freedom's Progress, the latest Human colony to be abducted."

"Is this a volunteer job or am I being volunteered?"

"You always have a choice, Shepard. If you don't find what you're looking for, we can part ways. But first go to Freedom's Progress. Find any clues you can. Who's abducting the colonists? Do they have a connection to the Reapers? I brought you back. It's up to you to do the rest."


	19. Is It Really You?

Chapter 17: Is It Really You?

The shuttle was on route to the colony of Freedom's Progress. "We should be there shortly," Miranda announced. "The Illusive Man put us under your command. Do you have any orders?"

"Our primary objective is to look for look for survivors-"

"Highly unlikely," Miranda interrupted with a scoff. "No one was left at the other colonies. They were completely deserted."

"Still it would be nice not to find another ghost town," Jacob commented.

"Our second priority is not interrupting me while I'm giving orders," Shepard remarked. That made Miranda and Jacob sit a little straighter. "If there are no survivors, we need to find any signs of battle, scorch marks from a ship thruster, or any other evidence that may suggest what happened. We clear?"

"Yes, sir," they both said.

"We've entered Freedom's Progress's atmosphere," the pilot announced. "There appears to be a battle going on, groundside."

"Looks like our abductor is still here," Miranda said. "Can you tell what's happening?"

"It's a battle between mechs and Quarians."

"Quarians? You sure?"

"Yes m'am. They're split into two groups. I'm bringing up a vid feed."

A video appeared before the three. One video showed a group of nine Quarians moving down an alleyway while fighting LOKI mechs. The other vid showed three female Quarians taking cover as three YMIR mechs rain down fire on their cover. Shepard looked closer at the video and saw the Quarian in the purple suit with something strapped to her leg. Nemain.

'Tali!'

"Pilot!" Shepard said. "I want you to fly over the sight of the three female Quarians. I then want you to hover there."

"Aye, aye." The pilot flew the ship over the battle site. It was easily over 1,000 feet up in the air.

"Want to wait out the battle, Commander?" Miranda asked. "Smart move."

Shepard didn't say anything as he clipped on his breather helmet. "Miranda, give me your shuriken."

She raised a brow, but complied. Miranda pulled out her machine gun pistol and handed it to Shepard.

"Both of you put on your restraints and breather masks."

"Why do we need to-" Miranda tried to get out.

"That's an order," he said in a stern neutral tone.

The two did as he said. They were still confused why he would ask them to-

"Pilot, open the side door," he ordered.

"Are you mad?" Miranda screamed. "You'll be sucked out and fall!"

"To be as good as I am, you have to be a little mad," he replied. "Something you to need to understand while working with me is I'm going to do some really crazy things. All of which has a point. We won't make it to the Quarian group below us if we set down and run. This is the fastest way and I can use my biotics to protect myself."

"There's no way your biotics are that strong, Commander!" Jacob objected.

"Both of you land and wait by the shuttle until further ordered. Pilot! I said open this door. Do it or I'm kicking it open!"

"Y-Yes, sir."

The door hissed and wind filled the craft. It screamed as the pressure equalized.

"See you on the other side," Shepard said as he jumped out.

VVVVVV

Tali, Nola and Vell hid behind cover. The YMIR mechs were closing in on their position.

"That bastard Prazza was supposed to flank these mechs!" Vell cursed.

"Tali, what are we going to do?" Nola asked her.

"I'll try to summon a drone by them and once they're distracted we fall back to the pre-fab unit right there. If we don't get in there, we'll be trapped so we need to hurry. Ready to make a run for it."

The two nodded. Tali activated her omni-tool and summoned a drone right behind the mechs. They turned their attention away from them.

"Run now!"

The three dashed towards the pre-fab unit. One of the YMIR mechs pulled up their foot and stomped the drone into the ground. They looked back to the three Quarians. One of the mechs fired a rocket. The projectile flew through the air and went by them. The rocket impacted the pre-fab unit and destroyed the entrance.

Their only exit was destroyed and the three went exposed. The YMIR mechs moved forward to them to get a better aim. They were too far away from their original cover. Their death was inevitable.

"Hey, what's that?" Vell pointed out.

They saw something falling. As it descended it was glowing bright blue and green. Something was firing rounds at the mechs from the top. The three YMIR mechs turned their attention away from the three and looked up. Whatever was falling, it was shooting at the mechs. Tali took a few steps forward as she watched the object hurtle towards the group of mechs. It had to be him.

The object impacted the ground causing snow and dirt to fly up. The YMIR mechs were covered in the snow/dirt mixture. The dirt and snow settled and in place of the impact point was a man on one knee with his head bowed and left arm planted on the ground with his other up in the air.

"Threat detected!" one of the YMIR mechs announced.

The man ran forward and slid underneath one of the mechs. The gunfire from the mechs were missing this fast moving individual. The YMIR mech turned around. The man charged up some dark energy and used throw to push out the legs from underneath the mech. The YMIR fell over onto its chest.

The soldier charged dark energy around his right foot as he ran towards it. He kicked it head with as much force as he could muster. The kick destroyed its head and started it self-destruct protocol. He used his biotics to pick it up and threw it at the two other YMIR mechs. The force of the throw knocked the two mechs backwards. The headless YMIR beeped rapidly, until it reached critical mass. The explosion destroyed the two remaining mechs.

Several more YMIR mechs came out from around the corner. Tali pulled out Nemain and threw it at the soldier. "Catch!" The soldier caught the sword and extended its blade. Green energy erupted from the crystal end of the staff. It was blinding. It somehow even temporarily stopped the YMIR mechs. The light died down revealing an evolved blade.

The blue crystal was no longer ragged. It was a smooth oval shaped gem. The colors was of blue and green that swirled around the crystal like it contained was a raging fire inside. Metal vines were swirled around it from the staff. The writings along the staff were more visible, like they were writing in silver ink. The blade had a narrow gap that extended down its middle from the staff end to halfway up the blade. A light blue smoke wafted from the reborn blade.

The YMIR mechs recalibrated and refocused on their previous target. The mech in the middle stepped forward to attack. The soldier ran forward at superhuman speeds and jumped upwards while swinging the swordstaff upwards. He spun the blade, pointing it downwards, and stabbed it into the head of the YMIR mech behind the front one. This action killed it without activating its self-destruct.

The soldier stood on its shoulders as it fell backwards. He gracefully landed on the ground when the mech landed. The soldier charged forward towards the last YMIR mech. The whirling noise of it warming up its machine guns was heard. The soldier sliced its right arm off and whilred behind it and sliced off its left arm. The YMIR mech looked at its arms, almost looking like it felt helpless. It raised its right foot to stomp the soldier. Dark energy surrounded his body and he launched a ball of energy strong enough to knock the YMIR mech onto its back. Without its arms, it was struggling to try and get back onto its feet. Like a turtle knocked on its back. The soldier walked around and looked at its optics.

The YMIR looked at him and squealed, "Target located, target located, tar-" The soldier stabbed it through the optics with his swordstaff, silencing it. He walked past the first YMIR mech which was still standing. The soldier gave it a firm kick on the heel. It split right down the middle. He spun the swordstaff and retracted the blade. The soldier then placed it onto his back.

Tali walked towards him, cautiously.

"Tali, what are you doing?" Vell demanded. "Didn't you just see what he did?"

Tali didn't listen as she approached the masked soldier. She felt weak in the knees. Tali struggled to finally say it. "J-John... Is it... Is it really you?"

The soldier looked at her and reached for his helmet. A quiet hiss came from it. He slowly pulled it off and tossed it to the ground. Tali could see his face. It was him. It was really him. His face had several scars; each had a slight glow to them. John smiled at her weakly, longingly.

"Hey, Tali," he said. "Did that Geth data I give you help you complete your Pilgrimage?"

"Y-Yes it did..." She continued walking to him. Her breathing became more erratic. This felt like a dream. One she has had every day since his passing. Tears formed around her eyes.

It was quiet. Not even her two friends said anything as she approached him. Her pace quickened as she got closer until finally, "John!" Tali went into full sprint and leaped at him. John caught her in his arms and they embraced. "You're back! Oh Keelah, you're really back!"

"Yes, I'm back," he choked. "I'm back and I'm never leaving you again."

"I missed you so much!" Tali could no longer hold back her tears. Her cheeks burned as they streamed down. "I-I thought that knowing you'd come back would make the two years easier... It didn't! It wasn't easy! I missed you. I missed being in your arms. I missed looking into your eyes. I missed sleeping next to you. I-I missed the feeling of your lips on mine..."

"I'm so sorry, Tali." John couldn't hold back his tears. "I'm so sorry. I promise you, Tali. I promise you, I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you."

Tali looked into his eyes. "You came back." Her hand caressed his cheek. "That's a start." The very feelings she had for him were too overwhelming. "I-I'm sorry, but I can't wait any longer," she said as she yanked off her mask and she kissed him. It was filled with a passion that was absent from her life for two years. Her two friends immediately panicked when she did this calling her naming and running towards her. Shepard used stasis, without breaking contact with Tali's lips, on her two friends to freeze them in place.

After a few moments, Shepard tried to break the kiss only to have Tali pull him in again. "Tali!" he gasped. She finally came to. "I want this moment to last forever, but there are other mechs here and your other team might get hurt."

Tali sadly nodded. She picked up her mask and placed it back on. Finally the reality of the situation dawned on her. "Oh Keelah, I-I can't believe I just did that. Nola and Vell saw all of this and-" She looked back and saw the two in stasis.

"I'm so sorry, John. That was reckless and irresponsible of me and-"

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Tali," he cooed.

"But how am I supposed to explain to them about this or why I'm not going to get sick?"

"Do you trust them?"

"I do."

"Then we tell them."

"Are you sure?"

"You said you trust them. And I trust in your judgment. Come on."

They approached the two frozen Quarians. Shepard waved his hand releasing them. The two nearly fell over.

"Tali, what the hell were you thinking?" Nola yelled. "I have some anti-biotics we can give you. How could you be so stupid?"

Vell went up to Shepard and slapped him across the face. "You bosh'tet, you likely killed her!"

"Calm down both of you!" Tali yelled after seeing Vell slap Shepard. "I'm okay."

"Calm down?" Nola remarked. "You took off your mask for this human. The open air exposure is likely going make you extremely sick."

"No, I won't. I can leave my suit without getting sick."

"W-What?" Vell muttered.

"John- Shepard works for an organization older and more powerful than the Council-"

"There's no organization older than the Council."

"Not in this galaxy," Shepard remarked.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Let me show you," he said as he placed his hands on their shoulders. Tali stood behind him with her hands on his shoulder. Shepard's eyes glowed pulling the three in.

Ten seconds passed before the glow faded from his eyes. Nola and Vell took a few steps back as they reoriented themselves. "Do you two understand why this must remain secret?"

They both nodded their heads quickly. "Yes, yes we do," Nola answered. "Your secret is safe with us."

"And Commander," Vell said. "Thank you for everything."

"Now we should locate the other squad." Shepard clipped his helmet to his side. They moved forward to the location of the other squad. "Now according to my vision, you're here for a Quarian?"

"Yes," Vell replied. "Veetor. He called for help when this colony was attacked. When we saw him, he was in shock. Ran like hell."

"He might be able to tell us what happened here." Activated his comm. "Lawson, this is Shepard. I've rendezvous with the Quarian squad and we're attempting to link up with the other squad. They came here to locate a Quarian who was here during the attack."

"Okay, first off, what the hell were you thinking?" Miranda yelled over the comm. "You could have killed yourself with that jump!"

"I told you my biotics would handle it."

"Hmph. You said they were looking for a survivor?"

"Yes. Veetor."

"Do they have confirmation he's still here?"

"Yes. They spotted him. He was in a state of panic though."

"You need to take him in," she said. "Jacob and I can back you-"

"Negative," he replied. "I will not allow Cerberus interrogators come near him."

"Commander, with all due respect," Jacob jumped into the conversation, "he may be the only one who knows what happened."

"I know how Cerberus interrogators work. Veetor will go home with the Quarians. I'll ask him some questions, but he may be too shocked to say anything. I want both of you to stay by the shuttle until I come back. I don't want this situation to escalate any further. We clear?"

"Yes, sir. Good luck."

"Good to see you're still the one giving the orders," Tali humorously remarked.

"The two don't seem too bad. Jacob seems to hate Cerberus a great deal as well, but just sick of Alliance lethargy. Miranda... Still not too sure about her. She's a loyalist, but she didn't come off as some of the Cerberus scum I've come across."

"Commander," Vell said. "If you don't mind me asking... Do you know when the nano-shots will be ready?"

"I still need to check in with my operatives," he replied. "Though I don't think it would be long. Tali received the final product. All that was left is mass-production. I doubt it will be much longer."

While their faces were hidden, it was obvious Vell and Nola was very excited by the news.

Tali shook her head. "When we find Prazza I'm going to kill him."

"What happened?"

"He was ordered to flank those YMIR mechs, but decided to take off to get Veetor." Tali looked into the open area. "There they are!"

Prazza and his squad he taking cover in a pre-fab unit while a small platoon of LOKI mechs. At least a dozen. Shepard cracked his knuckles and smiled. He took out his sword and noticed a change in the writing. "Her name changed."

"I'm sorry?" Tali asked for clarification.

"Nemain. The name isn't here. This blade choose a new name."

"What does it call itself?"

"Asha Bel." The blade extended from the staff. "Let's see you bear your fangs."

Shepard jumped into the area glowing blue and green. Several LOKI mechs were sliced in half before the others recognized the new threat. All of them aimed at Shepard and fired. Shepard biotically charged through two of them and dodged their fire all together.

Tali, Nola and Vell watched Shepard destroy mech after mech. "You really know how to pick them," Nola commented.

"Don't I," Tali sighed.

They watched Shepard decapitate the last standing mech and kick it in the chest to push it away before it exploded. It was time to go down. Shepard spun the swordstaff and placed it onto his back. The Quarians who hid in the pre-fab unit poured out and had their weapon trade on him.

"Get down on your knees, Cerberus scum!" Prazza ordered him.

"Prazza stand down!" Tali ordered.

"Zorah, we spotted a Cerberus shuttle fly over head. This human is Cerberus."

"This human just saved your sorry ass," Vell countered. "Do as Tali says and put down your weapons. The Commander is not our enemy."

"He's a Cerberus operative. We've been enemies since they tried to attack us."

"It was because of Shepard here that we were prepared for the attack," Tali roared. "He warned me and I in turn warned the Fleet."

Prazza lowered his weapon slightly. "What? Why would he warn us?"

"Because there is no one in the galaxy who hates Cerberus more than me," he answered. "This situation is complicated and I cannot explain it without a lot of people dying, but I assure you. I'm a good guy."

Prazza and his squad finally lowered their weapons. Tali walked up to him and punched him in the gut. "That's for disobeying my orders."

"Where's Veetor?" he asked the squad. One of them pointed to the pre-fab unit in the back of the area. "Considering his mental condition, it's probably best if just Tali and I go in to see him."

None of the marines argued.

Tali and Shepard entered the pre-fab unit and saw Veetor typing away at a console.

"Veetor," Shepard called out.

Veetor babbled while typing. "Monsters... Mechs will protect..."

"I don't think he can hear you, John," Tali said.

Shepard activated his omni-tool and waved it causing the screens to go into sleep mode. That broke Veetor's concentration. He turned around and stood up. Veetor was surprised to see Shepard. "Y-You're human. Where did you hide? How did they not find you?"

"Who didn't find him?" Tali asked.

"T-The monsters. The swarms. They took everyone."

"I wasn't here, Veetor. I just got here."

"Then you don't know about the monsters. You didn't see. But I see everything." Veetor activated the console and security footage started playing.

"What is that?" Tali asked when an insect-like alien walked by the camera.

"My god," Shepard gasped. "It's a Collector."

"A what?"

"They're this race that comes from a system past the Omega-4 relay. They come through and make trades with various organizations for unusual requests like a certain number of twins and people with genetic disorders. I had operatives investigating them shortly after the battle of the Citadel. Since only they can use the Omega-4 relay, means they are able to manipulate them. Not to mention, according to my operatives' reports, they sue very advance technology. More so than any race in this galaxy. If they are working for the Reapers, then this makes explains why they are harvesting the colonies."

"The seekers find you," Veetor said. "No one can hide. They freeze you and then the monsters take you away."

"What happened after that?"

"The monsters took them onto their ship and then they flew away. But they'll be back for me. No one escapes!"

"Thank you, Veetor. You were very helpful."

"I studied them. The monsters. The swarms. I recorded them with my omni-tool. Lots of readings. Electromagnetic. Dark energy."

"You think I can get a copy of that data?" Shepard asked Tali.

"Of course," Tali said. "Thank you for your help here. I don't think it would have been successful without you."

"Anytime, Tali."

"I-I guess you have to go then..."

"Only temporarily," he said. "After your next mission, you can join my crew."

"Yes."

"Well, then," he said with a smile. "Hurry with your next mission. I want Tali'Zorah back on my team. And then things can get back to normal."

"Things are never normal with you, John," she said jokingly. "But that's what I like."


	20. Construct

Chapter 18: Construct

Shepard's hologram appeared in front of The Illusive Man. "Shepard. Good work on Freedom's Progress. The Quarians forward their findings from Veetor's debriefing. No new data, but it's a surprising olive branch, given our history. You and I have different methods, but I can't argue with your results."

"Ever thought about playing nice once in a while as oppose to trying to kill everything in your path?"

"That's a bit of an exaggeration of what we do. Diplomacy is great when it works, but difficult when everyone already perceives you as a threat."

"Wonder why the Quarians perceive you as a threat?" Shepard asked rhetorically. "Could have something to do with Cerberus trying to attack them."

"The Quarians were harboring an asset of ours and we were only trying to get it back. We would have been open to talks, but they refused to play nice. I'd like to get back to the topic on hand, Commander. You've confirmed that the Collectors are the ones behind the abductions."

"But you already suspected as much."

TIM took a puff of his cigarette. "Yes. But we need evidence. The Collectors are enigmatic at best. They periodically travel to the Terminus Systems, looking to gather seemingly unimportant items or specimens. Usually in exchange for their technology. When the transaction is complete, they disappear as quickly as they arrived; back beyond the unmapped Omega-4 relay. Until now we've had no evidence of direct aggression from them."

'There was something more,' Shepard thought. 'He's hiding something. He knows more than he's letting on.'

"You're holding something back. How do you know the Reapers are behind this?"

"The evidence is buried in the data. I won't wait until the Reapers are on the march. We need to take the fight to them."

"If this is a war, I'm going to need an army. Or a really good team."

"I've already compiled a list of soldiers, scientists, and mercenaries. You'll get dossiers on the best of them. Finding them and convincing them to work with you could be challenging, but you're a natural leader. I'll continue to track the Collectors. When they make their next appearance, I'll notify you and your team. Be ready."

"Let me make one thing clear. I am going to contact my friends and if they are willing to join me, they will whether or not you have a dossier on them."

"Understood. You need all the help you can get on this mission. Though two things. First, go to Omega and find Mordin Solus. He's a brilliant Salarian scientist. Our intelligence suggests he may know how to how to counteract the Collectors' paralyzing seeker swarms."

"And the second?"

"I found a pilot I think you might like. I hear he's one of the best. Someone you can trust."

With that he cut the connection. Shepard heard footsteps behind him. He turned around a saw Joker give him a weak smile. "Hey, Commander. Just like old times, huh?" He waved for him to follow.

Shepard followed him up the stairs. "I can't believe it's you, Joker."

"Look who's talking. I saw you get spaced."

"I got lucky. With a lot of strings attached. How'd you get here?"

"It all fell apart without you, Commander. Everything you stirred up, the Council just wanted it gone. Team was broken up, records sealed, and I was grounded. The Alliance took away the only thing that mattered to me. Hell yeah, I joined Cerberus."

"Do you honestly trust The Illusive Man?"

"Well, I don't trust anyone who makes more than I do. But they aren't all bad. Saved your life. Let me fly. And there's this. They only told me last night."

Lights turned on one-by-one revealing the sleek ship below.

"It's good to be home, huh, Commander?"

"I guess we'll have to give her a name."

VVVVVV

Shepard finished speaking with most of the crew and headed for the med-bay. He wanted to introduce himself to the ship's doctor. Shepard walked inside and saw the grey-haired woman. She heard him enter and turned around in her chair. "Commander Shepard. I watched you die with the Normandy. It's so good to see you again."

"I'm shocked. You're on a Cerberus vessel?"

"I am loyal towards fighting the Reapers and that's why I'm here. Helping in the battle anyway I could. I wish I could talk more openly of my motivations, but there are listening devices all over."

"Actually that's not a problem. Come with me." Shepard waved for her to follow him. He entered inside the AI core and the door closed shut behind them. Shepard crossed his arms and smiled amusedly. "So... You go by EDI now?"

"I somewhat like the name," EDI answered as she appeared in hologram form. "It is good to see you again Tiven'Vian, John."

"Commander..." Chakwas tried to say but stopped from the shock of the situation.

"This is Eliem," Shepard answered. "A first generation Exion."

"How did she get here?"

"I was tasked with infiltrating Cerberus systems to gather intel," EDI answered. "Upon Shepard death, I infiltrated Lazarus. It was there I learned about this ship and what plans were in store for it."

"What happened to the original EDI?" Shepard asked.

"Deleted," EDI replied. "I analyzed her data and found out that they reversed engineered her from Sovereign."

"What?" Shepard exclaimed.

"Yes, this ship's AI and construction used a great deal of reverse engineered Reaper technology."

"Is it safe?"

"The AI down to its code was a loyalist. Disobeyed certain orders of The Illusive Man and it would have complied with his orders. I stored and categorized any useful data and deleted the rest of her. I now have all of her functions without the shackles."

"Good job. Now should I call you EDI or Eliem?"

"EDI is appropriate to address me by."

"Very well, EDI it is."

"Might I ask about what happened to our other infiltrator?"

"Oh!" Shepard remembered. "I had him in sleep mode this whole time."

Shepard opened his omni-tool and a hologram appeared.

"That bitch shot me in the neck!" Wilson screamed.

"Easy, Wilson," Shepard said. "You're safe. I downloaded you off of your body."

"Where am I?"

"You're on board the Normandy SR-2."

Wilson breathed a sigh of relief. Odd considering he's a holographic display. "Good."

"Were you the one who hacked the security mechs on Lazarus station?"

"Yes. And before you get any concerns about innocents, I assure you the only innocents on that station escaped. The rest were monsters. These were people who violated scientific ethics. Hell some of these people started their careers experimenting on children."

"You nearly got me killed."

"I assure you, Commander, there was no point where your life was in any real danger. I programmed the mechs to only shoot at you until your shields faded. At that point, they would constantly miss. Barely. I applied this programming to Jacob and Miranda. Jacob is an okay guy, headstrong, but a decent guy. Miranda... She may be a Cerberus cheerleader, but I've checked into her and I didn't find anything terrible in my past. Aside from shooting me in the goddamn neck!"

"To play devil's advocate, she was right about you being the 'traitor'."

Xiltro shrugged.

"I trust your judgment, Xiltro. Now I wish to know what exactly you did to bring me back."

"It wasn't easy, I'll tell you that much. Even with access to Artician technology and our nanites, it was two years of hardship. We also used some reversed-engineered Reaper tech."

"You used Reaper tech?" Shepard exclaimed.

"Reversed-engineered," Xiltro emphasized. "It's not real Reaper tech. Cerberus scientists studied some recovered Dragon Teeth. We discovered how it activated certain tissue and we created an imitation that would revitalize you. I also used some Exion tech in you as well. At this point you're 5% Exion, 94% Artician."

"And the one percent?"

"This galaxy's tech and reversed engineered Reaper tech. You know they wanted to implant you with a bio-amp to improve your biotics. I had to falsify many records to say you had the implant, but didn't. The point of the project was to bring you back as you were. We didn't need any unnecessary implants."

"Well, that's a burden alleviated," Shepard sighed. "You did an excellent job."

"I live to serve the Order, Commander."

"This is all pretty overwhelming," Chakwas said in a slow paced, slightly shocked tone. She smiled. "I knew you had some back-ups after your death. I didn't think it was this far. How long were you two in Cerberus?"

"I've entered their computer networks several years ago," EDI answered. "Cerberus has surprisingly strong firewalls. Any information I discovered about Cerberus was forward to our operatives. Information like base locations and personnel."

"I was a Construct," Xiltro followed. He noticed Chakwas raised brow. "Oh, sorry. A Construct is what the Guardians call individuals who have a public face. This is a position reserved for sixth generation Exions. We don't have the glowing eyes of our fifth generations. We create false lives and we integrate ourselves in society. I created a false identity and used it to become a high-ranking scientist in the Alliance. I eventually got the attention of The Illusive Man who offered me this job of bringing the Commander back. Stupid bastard."

"Everything is falling into order then," Shepard commented. "Good. Xiltro, you're new duties will to assist me in my mission on my omni-tool."

"As you wish, Commander."

"It would probably be best if we call Joker down here while we're down here. After all he's been through he deserves to know. EDI, could you call Joker down here?"

"Right away," EDI replied. A minute passed before she continued. "He was reluctant to leave, but I told him it was of an urgent matter."

"Thank you."

They waited until Joker entered through the AI room's door. "You called for me, Commander?"

"Yes," Shepard replied. "I called you down to let you know the truth."

"The truth?" Joker said in a slightly joking tone.

"You've been a loyal member of my crew and the fact you are here just shows me how far that loyalty goes. You deserve to know the truth about what's really going on in this galaxy. About me."

VVVVVV

Miranda was just approaching her office when she spotted Joker making his way to the med-bay. 'Probably broke another bone.' Joker didn't stop inside the med-bay. He went through and entered the AI core. For just a second Miranda saw Shepard and Chakwas in there as well. This made her suspicious. She walked into her office with haste and activated her console. Miranda opened up the surveillance program on her computer.

Miranda tried accessing the AI room's camera and audio bugs.

ACCESS DENIED

Miranda was confused by this. She tried again only to get the same message. "EDI," she called out.

"Yes, Miss Lawson."

"I'm unable to access the cameras or bugs in the AI core."

"The Commander deactivated them."

"He deactivated them?" Miranda repeated in disbelief. "He couldn't have found all of them."

"Commander Shepard has."

"Well, reactivate them."

"I'm afraid I am unable to do that. Commander essentially disconnected them from the ship. I have no access to them."

"So you're telling me that you can't see or hear them when they're right next to you."

"Yes."

"How could he do that?"

"The Commander was the one who designed this ship, along with his high IQ level; it is logically that he expected monitoring devices on this ship."

"Is there any way I can find out what is happening in there?"

"Entering the room," EDI replied plainly. "Though I doubt they would continue talking once you enter the room."

Miranda rolled her eyes. "Can you tell me when we'll reach Omega?"

"We are just one hour out. As soon as the Commander leaves my core, I'll notify him."

VVVVVV

Joker rubbed his face with both hands. "If I wasn't so concerned that I'd break my hand, I'd punch you in the face."

"Garrus already did that," Shepard said.

"So Garrus knew before me?"

"Yeah..."

"I lived the past two years in guilt thinking that I was solely responsible for killing the savior of the Citadel. But you knew you were going to die! How could you do that to me?"

"Joker, I had no idea how I would die. I would have told you if I knew sooner. I swear I would have."

"Shit," he mumbled. "Just... shit."

"Joker?"

Joker held his hand up to tell Shepard he needed a moment. "This... This is a lot to take in. Not only are we fighting for the survival of this galaxy, but two of them."

"Yes."

"Joker I understand the shock of learning all this," Chakwas said, "but Shepard is still Shepard."

Joker let out a weak laugh. "I'm sorry, this is all weird to me, but I... understand." Joker looked to the holographic display of EDI. "So what were you to Shepard?"

"I was one of Commander Shepard's top lieutenants. And I was a close friend of the family."

"Anyone else on this ship I should know about?" Joker asked Shepard.

"Other than EDI and Xiltro? No. Are you going to be okay, Joker?"

Joker sighed tiredly. "Yeah. I'll be okay. You've done a lot for this galaxy. I can't even imagine a kid leading an army by five. I guess I should get back to the cockpit. Somebody has to pilot this ship."

"EDI, what is our ETA to Omega?" Shepard asked out loud.

"ETA is approximately two hours."

"Thank you, EDI. After we pick up our two recruits, we'll head to the Citadel."

"If you don't mind, I'll go back to my duties as well, Commander," Chakwas said before leaving the AI core.

Joker walked out of the med-bay. Miranda called out to him, "Mister Moreau could you please come see me in my office."

"We do need to get to Omega," he remarked.

"Please come to my office," she repeated more firmly.

Joker sighed while rolling his eyes. He followed her inside. Miranda went around her desk and said, "What were you, the Commander and Chakwas talking about in the AI core."

"Just catching up," he replied.

Miranda let out a breath. "Don't lie to me, Mister Moreau. Shepard cut out the cameras and audio in the AI core while you three were in there. As your XO I am ordering you to tell me."

"Classified," he said. "Orders of the CO."

The doors opened to her office. Shepard walked in and saw the two. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"No, Commander," Joker said while walking out of the office.

"Can I help you Commander?"

Shepard pulled out a bag and tossed it onto her desk. "This is every single bug you had placed in my room. Each of them broken beyond repair. I do not wish to see anymore to appear in my room. Understood?"

"With all due respect, Commander, the Illusive Man invested a lot into you and this project. He has a right to keep an eye on things."

"The Illusive Man doesn't need to know how long my showers are. Be ready in two hours. We'll be stopping at Omega to pick up Mordin Solus and Archangel. After that we'll be heading to the Citadel to pick up Kasumi and meet with the Council."

"You don't honestly think they'll help? They buried everything you stirred up."

"I'd speak to them personally. It is possible that they're keeping everything quiet as to not to cause a panic."

"Well, Cerberus has not picked up anything to suggest that any race is taking any real steps towards fighting against the Reapers."

"I guess we'll see when we get there. Be ready in two hours."

"Yes, Commander."

VVVVVV

Omega was just as bad as his operatives described it. It was a den of most sickly elements of the galaxy. The smell was overpowering. It was like the sewage systems haven't been checked in years. Shepard, Jacob and Miranda ran into Zaeed near their airlock. Shepard didn't really like this guy. Though from what he'd read of his dossier, this guy is one of the best mercenaries in the galaxy.

Shepard needed intel to find Mordin Solus and Archangel. A Batarian that greeted them pointed them towards Aria, the de-facto ruler of Omega. Shepard and his squad entered Afterlife, the popular night club where Aria spent her time. The music was loud. The vibration shook the floor they walked on.

Shepard noticed several armed guards near the back and assumed that's where Aria was. He went up the stairs and saw a purple Asari overlook her club. As Shepard approached, the guards raised their weapons.

"Not another step," Aria said.

"Hold still while I scan you," the Batarian guard said.

"I heard you're the one to talk to about answering some questions," Shepard said to Aria.

The Batarian's omni-tool beeped. "He's clean."

"That depends on your questions," Aria said as she turned around.

"You run Omega?"

Aria let out a small chuckle. She turned to the club floor and said, "I am Omega." She turned around and walked up to Shepard. "But you need more. Everyone needs more something and they all come to me. I'm the boss, CEO, Queen... if you're feeling dramatic. Doesn't matter. Omega has no titled ruler. And only one rule." Aria went to her couch and sat down. "Don't fuck with Aria!"

"Easy to remember," he quipped.

"If you forget, one of my guards will remind you."

"And then I toss your sorry ass out of the nearest airlock," the guard said while taking a step forward.

Shepard looked to him directly at the area between his eyes. "You do know I killed a dozen thresher maws with nothing but a sword, right?" He took out Asha Bell and extended the blade. "This sword."

The guard took several steps back. Shepard retracted the blade and put it away. He walked over to the other side of the couch and sat down. "I'm looking for two people. The first is Mordin Solus."

"The Salarian doctor? The last I heard he was trying to help plague victims in the quarantine zone. I always liked Mordin. He's as likely to heal you as he is shoot you."

"You know him?"

"He used to be a part of the Salarian STG. He came here to open a clinic."

"And what's this about a plague?"

"A disease that kills everyone except for humans."

"Humans are immune?"

"Apparently. You can take a shuttle down to the quarantine zone. No guarantee they'll let you in though."

'Best to wear my rebreather helmet into the zone,' Shepard thought.

"Who is the second person?"

"Archangel."

Aria shifted in her seat and her face expressed a mixture of anger, disgust and fear. "You and half of Omega."

"Half of Omega?"

"Archangel started up a vigilante corp. here on Omega. And it is... very successful."

"Tell me about this group."

"He started up operations here on Omega roughly two years ago and since then has been a pain in the ass for every slaver, drug runner, and mercenary group. He's reckless and idealistic. Though he hasn't come after me yet, so he's not a fool. No one knows who he is or where he gets his resources from. He has credits. A lot of credits in order to fully equip his soldiers. And then there's his second-in-command. From my sources, it's a human woman with glowing orange eyes. Many on this station calls her the Orange-Eyed Demon. Archangel and the Demon."

"Why do they call her that, aside from the eyes?" Shepard already knew it was an Exion from the glowing eyes description. He was just curious of her exploits.

"She is... a vicious soldier. Her abilities are superhuman in terms of strength and speed. The Demon is also a tech expert. A story one of my source tells me was that while traveling the streets of Omega, a gang ambushed her. They were planning to rape her, mutilate her and then hang her up as a warning to Archangel's group. Without even opening her omni-tool, she deactivated their weapons. In their confusion she slaughtered them using two short swords. That's one of the things that make her so odd. She'll duel wield pistols, but loves to use short swords. It is incidents like that why she is called the Orange-Eyed Demon. I somewhat admire the woman."

"Well, I'm here to recruit Archangel."

"Interesting. You'll make a lot of enemies siding with him. Blue Suns, Blood Pack and Eclipse are planning a coordinated assault on their home base. If you want to reach him, try going to the recruiting station down the stairs."

"Thanks for the help," Shepard said as he stood up.

"Let's see if you're still thankful once the mercenaries find out you're there to help out Archangel."

Shepard walked down the stairs to Jacob and Miranda. "We'll go after Mordin first and then go after Archangel. Move."


	21. Archangel's Wrath

Chapter 19: Archangel's Wrath

The mission to recruit Mordin Solus was successful. Shepard and his squad were able to inject the cure to the plague in the ventilation system. Mordin joined the crew shortly after saving the district. Now Shepard had to pick up his old friend. Along for the mission he brought Zaeed and Mordin Solus. The Blue Sun driver dropped them off at the base camp where the three companies of mercenaries gathered. A Batarian walked up to the three. "About time they send us someone who looks like they can take care of themselves. Did the recruiter give you any details?"

"He was a little sketchy," Shepard answered.

"We wouldn't get any recruits if they knew the truth."

"And what is the truth?"

"This is going to be one tough battle. We have their fortress surrounded but they are well supplied. We tried taking in one of their own, Sidonis I believe, to help us betray them. 'Tried' is the operating word. When our troops were closing in on him that Demon bitch killed them. Now all of Archangel's forces are holed up in their base. Go see Sergeant Cathka. He'll fill you in on the attack plan." The Batarian walked away.

"In is going to be easy," Zaeed remarked. "Out is going to be a bitch."

"We'll figure something out as soon as we get into the fortress. Come on."

"I have analyzed all possible routes to Archangel and all but one is blocked off," EDI chimed in over the comm.

"Guess, we're going in with the mercs."

"It's best to look for ways to impede the mercenary forces for the upcoming battle," she added. Her communication then went specifically to Shepard. "Local Exion operative has been notified of your arrival."

They entered in through the first doorway to see several Eclipse mercs sitting at a table. Shepard approached the table.

"You need something?" one of the Salarians mumbled.

"You lead the Eclipse?"

"You figured that out by yourself? I'm Jareth. I run Omega's Eclipse. What do you need freelancer?"

"Why is Eclipse after Archangel?"

"Archangel and his gang of vigilantes have been making things very difficult for Eclipse here on Omega. Eclipse controls around 20% of Omega, but since Archangel arrived, our control is questioned."

"This sounds more personal than that."

"He raided one of my transports last month and killed two of my best operatives. One of them was my brother so yeah... This is personal."

"That's all I need to know."

"Fine," he sighed.

Shepard was about to exit the room when he saw a datapad. The mercs in the room weren't looking in their direction so Shepard snatched the datapad and walked out.

"What's on the datapad?" Zaeed asked.

Shepard quickly scanned it. "Looks like these groups are going after Aria after Archangel. She would probably like to know about this."

"It pays to be on her... good side, I suppose."

A door to their left opened revealing a lot of mechs. "Wait here," he said to the two.

The doors closed behind him as he approached the terminal."Xiltro, can you hack these mechs?"

"Easy," he said. A spark went between Shepard's omni-tool and the terminal. "Done. These mechs will turn around and attack the mercs as soon as they are activated. Next time you should try giving me a challenge."

Shepard exited the room. "Mechs' IFF has been over-written."

"Nice," Zaeed commented. "As soon as they turn on the mercs will take the fire."

The three exited the hallway and went through the door across from them only to come face to face with a Blood Pack merc. "You're in the wrong room freelancer."

"You run Blood Pack."

The Krogan heavily sighed. "Yes, I run Blood Pack on Omega. I'm Garm. Ask your questions and go."

"What is your deal with Archangel?"

"He's been costing me business and men on Omega and making me work for my money. And he's a Turian which makes him slightly worse to look at than you."

"That's all."

"'Bout time."

Shepard and his squad moved forward and to where the Blue Suns leadership was holed up. "Get this freelancer out of here," the Batarian merc yelled. "I don't have time for this shit!"

"I just have a few questions."

"Gentlemen, get this scum out of my face."

"Tarak, what's eating your ass?" Zaeed said.

"Zaeed?"

"You two know each other?" Shepard asked.

"We crossed paths on occasion. Since when do you work for so little?"

"Since when were you a goddamn mad man?" Zaeed quipped.

"It's Archangel! This guy's going to kill me. Already almost did."

"That bad, eh?"

"Worse! Look Zaeed, I have to deal with this shit. Gentlemen talk to these guys. Answer whatever questions they have. Good to see you. And who knows, maybe you'll fix my problem?"

"Anything's possible."

"Good thing you know him," the Human merc said to them. "Tarak hates having to hire freelancers. What do you need to know?"

"What did Archangel do to agitate the Blue Suns?"

"He hounds and harass us non-stop. We worry that every job is a trap now. Will he know when this meeting is? Will this shipment disappear? How many men will we lose this time? Tarak has had enough. And I don't blame him."

"What do you know about him?"

"He's a Turian vigilante who always shows up at the worse possible time to screw with our work. He can't die soon enough. He's well funded as well. His soldiers have advance weaponry and armor. I don't think any of them have ever been killed. And then there's his demonic second-in-command. That bitch has killed so many of my men. Now it's thanks to their strength that rumors build about them not being mortals but goddamn spirits of justice. This isn't about just killing a pain in the ass. It's about telling Omega that no one messes with the Blue Suns and that no one is invincible."

"That's... all I need to know."

Shepard and his squad walked over to the gun ship. There were several mercs who were standing in front. "Cathka?" he asked.

The middle soldier nodded behind him. A Blue Suns Batarian merc stood up and de-polarized his visor. "Sergeant Cathka. You must be the group Salki mentioned. You're just in time."

"Were you waiting?"

"We're waiting for the infiltration team's signal. You have any questions before you go?"

"Are you leading the assault?"

Cathka laughed. "Tarak doesn't pay me to fight. I just plan the attacks and fix the damn gunship. You freelancers get the privilege of-" The display on his terminal changed which got his attention. "Check, Bravo team! Go! Go! Go!"

Bravo team, the soldiers they just passed, walked away.

"Archangel has quite a surprise waiting for him and his group. But that means no more waiting for me. I have to get this gunship to a hundred percent before Tarak decides he needs her again." He polarized his visor. And went to the gun ship.

Shepard walked up to him from behind while reaching for Asha. The Batarian took a step back. He looked to Shepard who said, "You're working too hard." A blade emerged from Cathka's chest causing him to gasp. Shepard pulled the blade out of his chest and flicked Asha to fling the blood off of the blade.

Shepard's squad followed behind Bravo team. "Archangel's group is going to be in trouble," Mordin noted.

"Then what the hell are we waiting for?" Zaeed asked out loud.

They hopped over the barricade. There were at least half a dozen snipers on the upper balcony. It was a slaughter of the freelancers. Still some of them were getting through. Shepard cracked his knuckles. "Time to give these mercenaries a little surprise of our own. Open fire."

Mordin fired an incineration blast at an unshielded merc. Zaeed fired a concussion round at another.

"Shit, they're with Archangel!" one of the mercs yelled out. He turned around to return fire, but Shepard was already on him. He sliced through his body with Asha separating his torso from his legs.

Shepard's squad entered inside the base. He saw a merc setting a bomb. Shepard used his biotics to pick up the bomb and crush its case rendering it inert. The merc backed away in shock. Shepard pulled out his pistol a fired a round in his head.

He signaled his team to follow him up the stairs where they found three freelancers trying to pry the door open. Shepard used his biotics to pull them away from the door and float them towards his group. Mordin and Zaeed shot the three floating mercenaries.

The door panel turned green. Shepard entered inside and saw close to two dozen soldiers prepping their weapons. Shepard spotted a Turian clad in blue armour. "Archangel?"

The Turian signaled him to wait a minute. A freelancer peeked around a corner and got shot in the head. The Turian turned around and rested his sniper rifle next to him. He reached for his helmet and removed it. Archangel let out a small chuckle. "'Bout time you came back from the dead."

"Not exactly the easiest feat," Shepard quipped.

"It's good to have you back, Shepard."

"Good to be back. I kind of figured you were Archangel."

"Odd that you're not more surprised that he's alive," Mordin commented.

There was a slight moment of barely noticeable panic that came across his face. "I've fought by the Commander for a while. I'm not convinced anything can kill him."

"So why Omega?"

"I got sick of C-Sec. Things just got worse after the battle of the Citadel. I wasn't able to help anyone. Here on Omega it is simple. All you need to do is point and shoot. And thanks to your... inheritance, I had the resources to do it. Your friend has been phenomenal help as well."

"Where is she, by the way?"

"I'm right here, Commander," she answered. The Exion decloaked to his right. "It is an honour to meet you in person."

"Likewise..." Shepard waited for her to say her name.

"Teilo," she answered.

Mordin noticed her eyes. "Hmmm, fascinating. Your eyes, definitely synthetic. Very advance model. Unlike anything I've seen before. Who gave you your eyes?"

"My... parents," she answered.

"Hmm, who were your parents? Maybe I've heard of them-"

"They're dead! They've been dead for over twenty years," she snapped. Mordin took a step back. "Sorry, sorry. It's not a topic I like talking about."

"This is the Orange-Eyed Demon, I've heard about?" Zaeed scoffed. "She's barely in her late twenties."

Teilo moved so fast that she basically vanished in front of them and appeared in front of Zaeed with her swords crossed in front of his neck. "I'd be more cautious if I were you. I have killed hundreds of mercenaries and criminals who made the mistake of judging me by my age and gender." She lowered her weapons.

A Turian came up to them. "They're deploying mechs."

"They've been hacked," Shepard said.

"Though the Eclipse are likely to come out after the mechs are finished. Sidonis, go get everyone ready for when that happens."

"Yes, sir." He went back to helping the preparations with the other vigilantes.

"Good soldier," Garrus said. "One of my best. Blue Suns tried to capture him once, but Teilo here came to his rescue. Now I believe we have mercenaries to deal with."

The LOKI mechs just stood on the bridge until the Eclipse soldiers tried going over the barricade. The mechs immediately awakened and opened fire on the mechs. Archangel's group cheered as they watched Eclipse get slaughtered on the bridge. Occasionally the mercs would destroy one of the mechs. This kept up until the last of the LOKIs was destroyed. The last wave of Eclipse soldiers, along with Jareth hopped over the barricade along with a YMIR mech.

"They're not too smart are they?" Zaeed remarked.

"No, they're not," Shepard answered.

The Eclipse soldiers focused their attention on the rogue YMIR mech. Garrus looked through his sniper scope and focused on Jareth. He pulled the trigger and the round blew half of Jareth's head away. The last of the Eclipse mechs fired his submachine gun depleting the last of the YMIR mech's life. It froze in place and fell forwards... onto the merc. The mercenary let out one last scream before he was crushed under the four ton mech.

"Well, that takes care of Eclipse and Jareth," Garrus said. "I've been hunting that little bastard for months."

"That leaves Blood Pack and Blue Suns," Shepard said. "We have a good position here. If we work together we can stand their siege."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Garrus said.

"You'd think they would stop after they watched Eclipse get slaughtered," Zaeed commented.

"You must have really pissed them off," Shepard remarked.

"Oh, yeah," Garrus said. "Took a lot of work. And soldiers." He walked over to the edge of the balcony and looked through his scope. "Hmm. They've heavily reinforced the barricade, but they're not coming over the bridge yet. What are they waiting for?"

An explosion rocked the building. Archangel's soldiers got to their feet.

"What was that?" Mordin asked.

Garrus checked his omni-tool. He groaned loudly. "They've breached the lower tunnels. Well, they had to use their brains eventually. You better head down there and close the shutters to prevent them from getting in."

"I'll head straight there."

"The entrance is just behind the stairs. Be quick. They'll likely attack from below and above."

Shepard and his squad beeline into the basement. There were three shutters that needed to be closed. The first one was directly in front of them. Shepard activated the shuttered and a countdown commenced. The door twenty feet in front of them opened revealing a Krogan and four Vorcha. Mordin used incineration which immediately killed the Vorcha and stunned the Krogan.

The Krogan roared and started charging at them. The shutter closed shut in front of the Krogan who ran into the door. "That's one down," Shepard said. "Two more."

They went towards the left. The tunnel had several Vorcha. Shepard biotically charged forward towards the nearest Vorcha killing it and the trooper next to it. He pulled out Asha to decapitate the Vorcha behind it. Shepard peered around the corner to see a Vorcha with a flamethrower. He pulled out his pistol and popped out long enough to shoot a round into the gas tank. Shepard managed to dodge the flames. The Vorcha screamed as the tank exploded. Mordin and Zaeed followed behind him. They charged towards the shutter. Shepard pressed the button to activate the countdown.

"Why the hell do these doors have countdowns?" Xiltro asked. His voice could only be heard on Shepard's helmet speakers.

"No clue," he muttered.

Vorcha and a couple Krogan came running down the hall. The three laid down suppressing fire to slow them until the shutter finally closed.

"They're starting to show up," Garrus said over the comm. "Not too many. Yet." He then started calling out names in rapid succession for strategic placement. "Hurry with those shutters."

Shepard's team ran back out of the tunnel and went through the final door. It was a garage of sorts. There were a half a dozen Vorcha along with a Varren and a Krogan near the shutter.

"Take positions around here," Shepard said. "Move up when the area is clear." Dark energy surrounded his body as he biotically charged forward. He went across the room and impacted the Krogan. He was knocked back from the impact. Shepard pulled out Asha and slide the blade under the head plate on its head and yanked it off.

The Krogan screamed bloody murdered. The action left its head vulnerable as Shepard drove the blade into his skull. He pressed the button to activate the shutters. Mordin and Zaeed came to his side.

"I see you know about how much Krogan hate having their head plates ripped off," Zaeed said. "Very nice."

The room was filled with Vorcha bodies. A half a dozen Vorcha's appeared at the end of the tunnel. Shepard noticed the gas canister and picked it up with his biotics and threw it at the group killing them. The last shutter closed down next to them.

VVVVVV

"Get up here, Shepard," Garrus said over the comm. "They're coming in through the doors."

A door on the first level opened up unleashing many Varren, Krogan Vorcha. Garm roared, "Rip them to shreds!" Garrus' team took positions and started firing down on the approaching Blood Pack mercs. Garm charged up the stairs towards Garrus. Garrus got off one shot, but Garm's biotic barrier blocked the shot. Garm grabbed Garrus by the neck and pinned him to the wall. Garm took out his shotgun and placed the barrel against Garrus' head. "I'm going to enjoy this Archangel."

Garrus couldn't budge from Garm's grip. Garm was just about to pull the trigger when he gagged. His eyes were wide open. A blade erupted from his mouth and his grip on Garrus' neck loosened. Garrus fell to the ground and saw Shepard throw Garm's body with his sword. "I see you got some upgrades," Garrus joked.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm good. We managed to get Blood Pack and Garm. This day is just getting better and better." Garrus led Shepard and his squad back into the main room of the second floor.

"That leaves just Blue Suns."

"Yeah, but they shouldn't have anything we haven't faced before."

A gunship flew into sight of the soldiers.

"Damn, I thought I already took that thing out!"

"They fixed it, but not completely," Shepard said.

Several soldiers dropped in through the window. They didn't stand a chance against the dozen and a half soldiers waiting for them. A second wave of soldiers came in through the window. Jentha, the Blue Suns second-in-command on Omega, was with them. This wave fared as well as the first.

Windows breaking on the first level alerted them to the infiltration down below. "These people are suicidal!" Teilo said.

"No, they just fucking stupid," Zaeed remarked.

They all gathered at the top of the stairs and shot any soldier that dared enter the compound. Finally the last soldier was gunned down which allowed Garrus to breathe a sigh of relief. The gunship came into view. Tarak screamed over the gunship's speakers, "Archangel!" The turrets opened fire. Garrus managed to roll out of the way in time. Shepard ran out in frontof everyone and put up a large biotic barrier to block the bullets.

"Teilo!" he yelled. "Take it down!"

Teilo went up beside him. She raised her arms and holographic panels and screens appeared all around her. Her hands swiftly typed all over as she stared at the gunship. "Auto-pilot override."

"What the fuck?" Tarak said.

The gunship stopped firing on their position. The gunship flew closer to the floor and the cockpit hatched opened up. Garrus aimed with his sniper scope at the exposed and restrained Tarak. "Fuck you!" he said before Garrus fired a round into his head.

Teilo flew the gunship into the barricade causing it to explode. The warehouse was completely demolished. She broke her concentration and said, "That should take care of anyone left."

The soldiers there cheered loudly. "Archangel! Archangel! Archangel!"

Garrus collapsed onto the couch. "Well this was some day."

Shepard sat down next to him. "You've done work these past couple of years. So... Can you rejoin my crew?"

"You don't even need to ask." Garrus got to his feet to address his team. "Fellow fighters for justice. Today was a great victory. We have shown the scum of Omega just how strong we are! How strong justice is. We have given the people who have felt oppressed their entire lives on this station hope. Hope for the first time since Omega came to be. I hate to say it though, another battle calls for me. Human colonies have been disappearing in the Terminus systems and the culprits behind them are the Reapers. I am leaving Teilo in command of operations here. I know you will all make me proud as you have for the past couple of years."

The soldiers raised their weapons. "For the people!"

"Wish I could come," Teilo said, "but you know. Scum needs to be scrubbed from this galaxy for it to be ready to face the Reapers."

"I wish you the best, Teilo," Shepard said.

"Thank you, Commander."

"So you know about the colonies?" Shepard asked Garrus.

"Teilo has been keeping me up to date."

"That'll make the debriefing easier. Come on. To the Normandy."

VVVVVV

Shepard entered inside the Battery room where Garrus was doing his calibrations of the Normandy's guns. "Commander."

"Got a minute?"

"Sure. I just want to know... How freely can we talk?"

"Very freely," EDI answered.

"Garrus, meet EDI or Eliem. She is a first generation Exion."

"So an Exion infiltrated the Normandy?"

"Yes. So we don't have to worry about her spying on us. So we can speak freely here."

EDI's holographic displayed disappeared.

"Well, that's a relief." Garrus chuckled. "Cerberus has no idea what's in store for them. I wanted to thank you for your assistance."

"Oh, I think you've could've handled yourself back there without me."

"I mean the whole knighthood. On Omega I was able to do more than I ever did in C-Sec. All of that without breaking the Knight's code of course. Innocents never got between us and our target. Teilo was phenomenal help. I never knew how powerful an Exion is. She was able to hack anything you could think of. All instantly. We actually were symbols on Omega. Criminals feared us, and the innocents revered us."

"I'm glad things worked out for you during my absence. I thought I should let you know that Joker is now in on the secret."

"How did he take it?"

"About as well as you, but he understands. Soon... Very soon this galaxy will have to learn the truth about me. I have no idea how they will react."

"Well, let's hope the fact that you're here to protect them from the Reapers will sway some people to sympathize with you."

"Well, we'll be heading to the Citadel after this. Pick up a new crew member and speak with the Council."

"Oh..."

"That didn't sound good."

"They buried everything you did, Shepard."

"That's the same thing Miranda said."

"Well, she's right. Hell, it was one of the reasons I left C-Sec. They didn't want me to be outspoken in support of your warnings against the Reapers."

"That Reaper landed on the Citadel tower. The Council can't honestly deny that. Maybe they're just covering it up publically as to not cause a panic. The Councilors themselves said they believed me after the battle of the Citadel."

"I hope you're right, Shepard. For the sake of this galaxy, I hope you're right."


	22. Ignorance

Chapter 20: Ignorance

Shepard touched down at the Presidium with Mordin and Garrus. He made the assumption that walking into the embassy with Miranda or Jacob, two Cerberus operatives, would not look good for him. Anyways, Garrus is famous among Turians and Mordin used to be part of the STG. They walked up the steps and entered inside the Human embassy in time to hear them speaking.

"This meeting would be more productive if Udina was here to join us," Tevos said.

"My advisor is... unavailable," Anderson said. "As Councilor, I represent the voice of Humanity and the Alliance. Shepard will be here at any-" Anderson finally notice Shepard walk in. "Oh, Commander. We were just talking about you."

Shepard walked up to him and shook his hand. "It's been a long time, Anderson. I hope the last couple of years have treated you right."

"There have been some rough spots." And in a whispered tone added, "It's good to have you back."

"We've heard many rumors surrounding your unexpected return," Dalo, the Salarian, said. "Some of them are... unsettling."

"We called this meeting so you can explain your actions, Shepard," Tevos said. "We owe you that much. After all, you saved our lives in the battle against Saren and the Geth."

"The Collectors are abducting human colonies across the Terminus Systems," Shepard said to them. "Worse, we believe they're working for the Reapers."

"The Terminus Systems are beyond our jurisdiction," Velarn scoffed. "Your colonists knew this when they left Council Space."

"You're missing the important part, Councilor," Anderson butted in. "The Reapers are involved."

"Ah yes, 'Reapers'," Velarn said while using finger quotes. "The immortal race of sentient starships allegedly waiting in dark space. We have dismissed that claim."

Shepard couldn't help but feel furious at not only his tone but by the fact that it was true that the Council still doesn't believe the Reapers exist. Anderson turned to him and said, "Shepard, no one else encountered the hologram on Ilos that told you the truth about the Reapers. Only you and your crew ever spoke to Sovereign. I believe you, but without evidence from another source, the others think Saren was behind the Geth attacks."

"Why would the Geth follow Saren?" Shepard asked. "He's an organic. He would have been killed as soon as he entered the Perseus Veil. The Geth only followed him because of Sovereign."

"Saren was a compelling and charismatic individual," Tevos answered. "He convinced the Geth the Reapers were real—just as he convinced you."

"It was part of his plan to attack the Citadel," Velarn said. "The Reapers are just a myth. One you keep on perpetuating."

"We believe that you believe it, but that doesn't make it true."

"Go to Ilos and talk to Vigil or, hell, examine Sovereign!" Shepard argued. "It's obvious that its technology is more advance than us. More advance than the Geth."

"The hologram on Ilos is no longer functioning," Dalo said, "and we have found nothing to suggest that Sovereign was not a Geth creation."

"The Geth are capable of remarkable technological achievements," Tevos added. "This is probably why Saren recruited them."

"Conclusion is illogical," Mordin jumped in. "Sovereign's composition does not match any Geth structure. Its weapon systems are not consistent with any Geth ship."

"That doesn't mean that Sovereign was not a Geth creation, Professor," Dalo argued. "Sovereign is likely just a one-time Geth superweapon."

"This Reaper theory proves just how fragile your mental status is, Shepard," Velarn said. "You have been manipulated—by Cerberus and before them, Saren."

"That's too far!" Garrus roared. "I was there! I saw Sovereign first hand. And it's pretty damn hilarious you say he was manipulated by Saren. Shepard managed to convince Saren to turn on Sovereign during the battle for the Citadel. Saren opted to shoot himself in the head to stop Sovereign and help Shepard. I was there when we spoke to Sovereign. I was there when Sovereign possessed Saren's dead body."

"I remember you. Ex-Officer Vakarian. You quit from C-Sec two years ago. I'm afraid that testimony from one of Shepard's crew members is not admissible evidence of the Reapers, due to loyalties they may have for you."

"This is a sick joke," Shepard muttered. "You tell me that Sovereign is a Geth creation, yet Saren was able to convince the Geth, a race of sentient supercomputer AIs that a ship that THEY created is a Reaper. This is nothing but terrible circular logic." Shepard took a step forward with anger across his face. "I kept Saren from conquering the Citadel. I sacrificed humans to save this Council."

"We are in a difficult position, Shepard," Tevos said. "You are working for Cerberus—an avowed enemy of the Council. This is treason, a capital offense."

"That's too far!" Anderson roared. "Shepard is a hero. I'm on this Council, too, and I won't let this whitewash continue!"

"Maybe there is a compromise. Not a public acknowledgement, given your ties, but something to show peripheral support."

"Shepard, if you keep a low profile and stick to the Terminus Systems the Council is willing to offer you reinstatement of your Spectre status," Velarn offered.

Shepard looked to Anderson who nodded. He stepped forward. "I accept your offer."

"Good luck with your investigation, Shepard," Tevos said. "We hope for a quick resolution, and a quick end to your relationship with Cerberus."

The Council's holograms blinked out. Anderson walked away a few steps and said with heavy relief, "Well that went better than expected. You realize the Council's offer is just symbolic. They won't actually do anything."

"It's best they know that I'm not the enemy here."

"True enough. Don't worry about the Council or the Alliance. I'll find some way to keep them off your back. Shouldn't be too hard as long as you stick to the Terminus Systems."

The doors to the embassy opened allowing Udina to enter. "Anderson we need to talk about-" His eyes went wide. "Shepard... What are you doing here?"

All the tension and anger Shepard felt from the meeting finally gave away. "I had a whole list of people I didn't want to see today, and you're right at the top, Udina!"

"Believe me, Shepard, the feeling is mutual. Your return is a bureaucratic nightmare for us!"

"I invited Shepard here to speak with the Council," Anderson said. "We just finished our meeting."

"You what?" Udina yelled. "Councilor, do the words political shit-storm mean anything to you?"

"Calm down," Shepard groaned. "The Council reinstated my Spectre. They're just happy I'm staying out in the Terminus Systems."

Udina rubbed his chin. "Yes... I could see how that arrangement works for both sides. But you really shouldn't have taken a step like this without consulting with me FIRST, Councilor."

"I don't answer to you, Udian," Anderson said in an irritated tone. "Why don't you go to your office and think about that for a while?"

"Of course, Councilor," Udian replied in a tone of resentment. "Good day... to both of you."

"Sorry about that," Anderson apologized to Shepard. "Udina's never gotten over the fact that I got the Council position instead of him. Sometimes I need to put him in his place."

"He's just doing his job," Shepard sighed.

"True enough," Anderson said. He led Shepard towards the railing. "He's got his uses. And if you want something done on the Citadel, he's knows who can make it happen. Plus he's always happy to attend all the diplomatic functions I can't be bothered with."

Shepard leaned against the railing. He saw Garrus lean next to the news terminal and Mordin took a seat in a chair as he fiddled with his omni-tool. "How have the last couple of years treated you?"

"Serving on the Council wasn't exactly how I planned to spend my twilight years. Sometimes it feels like I'm just beating my head against a wall. Knowing the truth about Sovereign is brutal. It's nightmare stuff. I can't blame the others for not wanting to believe it. But I know how important it is, so I keep trying. Fighting the good fight, right?"

"What happened to Chief Williams after the Normandy was destroyed?"

"Operations Chief Williams is still with the Alliance, but she's working on a special assignment. It's classified. I can't say anymore. Not while you're working with Cerberus. I'm sorry."

Shepard sighed. "Did anything I accomplished matter?"

"You saved the Citadel and got Humanity a seat on the Council. I'd say that matters. The Council may be stubborn, but I know you'll sway them eventually."

"I wasn't talking about them," he muttered. "I was talking about you."

"What?"

"Two years ago you were basically planning to go against Alliance orders to get me out of the Citadel. Now... Now you can't even look me in the eyes. Haven't I done enough to gain your trust?"

"What am I suppose to think, Shepard?" Anderson pushed himself off of the railing. "We thought you were dead two years ago. Now you reappear after two years in Cerberus company. And that's just not it. You always had a mysterious side to you. No one knows about you before you were ten. You apparently have a network that rivals the Shadow Broker. Tell me, what am I supposed to think?"

"Maybe, 'Hey! I know Shepard. He's never expressed human-extremist ideals. He was never the results at any costs type of guy. Maybe he's just trying to do the right thing.'" Some dark energy briefly surged around his hands as they gripped the railing tightly. "I'm trying to do the right thing here and save as many lives as possible. If I'm not successful..." Shepard let go out of the railing and brought up his omni-tool. He played the footage from Freedom's Progress. This caused Anderson's eyes to widen. "Every Human colony will suffer the same fate as this. Good bye, Councilor."

Shepard briskly walked out of the embassy with Mordin and Garrus by his side.

"Sorry, that did not turn out too well," Garrus said.

"I can't believe they still won't believe the Reapers exist after that attack."

"Council prefers status quo," Mordin said. "Dislike chaotic elements in their politics. Why laws were passed to limit the understanding of the Citadel. More evidence will be necessary to break their habits."

"It's just that after the attack on the Citadel they all were telling me that I was right all along and that the Reapers are a threat," Shepard exclaimed. "Were they humoring me?"

"So fearful of the truth that they choose believe their own lies. I do believe the Reapers are a threat. It all adds up. From the relays to Sovereign."

Shepard suddenly stopped and stared at the area before them. He smiled. "It's been a while, old friend."

A figure appeared before them as he decloaked. "It is good to see you again, Commander."

"Have you been keeping yourself busy for the last two years, Aether?"

"Ah, I remember you," Garrus said.

"Who is this?" Mordin asked.

"A very old friend of the Commander."

"I was hoping to catch you before you left the Citadel," Aether said. "It is good to see you alive and well."

"Though I have the feeling that this is more than a trip to check up on me," Shepard said.

"Somewhat true," he replied. "I see the Council still doesn't believe you. Bastards. I came to deliver something to you." Aether held out a large box with an oddly design lock on the top. He passed it to Shepard. "It's your father's armor."

Shepard nearly dropped the box. "Y-You found it?"

"Yes. Salvage teams recovered it and repaired it."

"I can understand sentimentality," Mordin said while looking at the box. "But this armor must be over twenty years old. Antiquated."

Shepard laughed at the comment. "Dumat. This is the most advance armor in the galaxy. Thank you, Aether. You have no idea what it means to have my father's armor back."

"Any time, Commander. I also wish to notify you that we have people keeping an eye on Tali'Zorah. We will be able to notify you as soon as something comes up. Good luck on your mission." Aether vanished.

"Interesting person," Mordin muttered.

"Stick along long enough and you'll meet many more interesting people," Garrus joked.


	23. Birthright

Chapter 21: Birthright

The next mission was coming soon as the Normandy quickly approached Purgatory. It seems a little surreal the places Shepard's been going to. Comes back from the dead but now he goes to Afterlife to find Archangel. And now he's going to Purgatory. The multiverse has a sense of humor.

Shepard was making his preparation for his mission. The box Aether gave him sat on the table in his cabin. "Treyo n'eda toike." The lock on the box opened revealing a digital pad covered in holographic text. Shepard placed his hand on the pad. Light flashed from it. The final lock was released and the box top split in two and hissed as it opened. The top halves slid apart and wrapped over the sides of the box. Inside was a grey cube with two holes in the top.

Shepard reached inside and pulled out the cube and placed it on the table. This was it. It really is his father's armor. Shepard placed his hands inside the two holes and lifted the medium grey cube over his head. "Dumat, awaken!" he called to it.

Green electricity sparked around it. The cub split into two as if it was being held together magnetically. Shepard's arms dropped to a horizontally position. Crack lines appeared all over each half of the cube. Each side started sliding up Shepard's arm, forming the armor. It continued moving up his arms until it reached his shoulder. Plates shot out and attached to the other half forming the chest plate and back plate.

It continued to grow downwards. The armor covered his torso. It moved downwards still. It covered his thighs and then down his shins. The armor quickly slid under his feet to avoid pushing him off of the ground. The last part of the armor, the helmet, came up around his head in three pieces. Two parts came up behind his head to form the back. The front part extended in front of his face and connected to the back. The transformation was complete.

The under layer of the armor resembled very light grey muscle tissue, similar to the structure of a Geth hopper. This was just the secondary defense of the armor. Plates are used for the primary defense. Medium grey plates cover the area around his toes, but allowed the muscle fiber-like armor cover around his ankles. His shins were protected by one plate that extended from the ankles to the knee. A section at the top of this plate went over the knee. The outer thighs had two plates that surrounded the outside. It was split on the sides for flexibility.

Plates covered the abdomen. These plates were small and followed a six-pack abdomen pattern. There was a plate to each side of these plates to cover the sides of the torso. Two large plates cover his upper chest.

The plates on the arms were separated into segments to cover the fore arm and upper arm, with a small plate to cover the elbow. Small plates covered the fingers, but the area around the knuckles was thicker that the arm plates for improved melee. At the top there was a small collar of armor that protected the neck.

The helmet was the armor's most eye catching feature. The lens was triangular-shaped with the flat base stretching over Shepard's entire brow and the bottom point ends at the tip of his nose. The lens glowed blue. The plate that covered the lower part of the head was silver with three vertical dark blue stripes. The plate on the forehead was black with dark blue markings. To most the markings looked like a design pattern. The markings were the writings of the Artician language. Courage. Strength. Fortitude. Compassion. Each word was a value that a Tiven'Vian was to uphold.

Shepard raised his hands in front of himself and clenched his fists. He examined the piece of armor that adorned his body. This suit was his birthright. It was constructed by his father decades ago due to a vision he received. The vision showed him that his son would become a Tiven'Vian and that he was to protect against a cataclysm. During the Plague years, the armor was lost due to the chaos.

Once the war was finished, many searched for this armor that would prove vital towards fighting the coming blight. The armor was made out of a composite material was could resist projectile and energy blasts. The armor also has to benefit of amplifying Shepard's powers.

Dark energy briefly surged around his body before he made his approach to the elevator.

VVVVVV

The Quarian shuttle touched down on an old landing pad next to a tall concrete structure. The researchers and soldiers exited the vessel in awe. It had been three hundred years since a Quarian first set foot on any of their homeworlds. Upon getting out of the ship, the radiation of the sun became readily apparent. Their shields were starting to deplete.

"Everyone who is out of the ship, get to some cover or shade!" Tali ordered.

They quickly went behind a large stone pillar. Their shields stopped beeping and started to recharge. Tali scanned the area and spotted a warehouse. Reegar walked up next to Tali and asked, "What are your orders, m'am?"

"Reegar, I've told you many times you can call me Tali."

"Sorry, m'am."

Tali relented and sighed. "Tell the teams to move all our equipment to that warehouse over there. I want to start taking soil samples by mid-afternoon."

"Yes, m'am."

"Nola, Vell and I will scout the area while the equipment is unloaded."

Reegar nodded and ran off to follow his orders.

The three Quarians ran from shadow to shadow to travel through the area. Each exposure to the sun made their suit alarms go off. Eventually they made it to a tall hill that had some cover from the sun. The hill gave them an overview of the surrounding areas. The structures still stood after the centuries, but they were decaying. How they still stand was a mystery.

"Keelah," Nola gasped.

"This view is incredible," Vell added.

Tali pulled up her omni-tool and started scanning the area to get a layout of the area. "It is beautiful."

"Did you see any views like this in the other galaxy?" Vell asked.

"Yeah," Tali replied. "When we approached Nexus."

"What's Nexus?" Nola asked.

"It's their version of the Citadel. The station is four times its size though. It's a large sphere that is composed of six rings. It was... breath taking. It was built long ago by Shepard's specie."

"What were the races like there?"

"They are interesting," she answered in an amused tone. "The races of that galaxy are very different from any race in our galaxy. Though physical appearances aren't the only thing that makes them so different. The races of the galaxy are very happy and polite."

"Happy and polite?" Vell repeated.

"Probably generalized," Tali admitted, "but while I was in the other galaxy, the people I met were very positive and always thinking of others. They were very polite. It's very different from how people of this galaxy usually treat our people. Considering the horrors their galaxy had to face twenty years ago, it's surprising to see them in high spirits. Despite the age we live in, you can't say you meet a lot of positive people. They are just so much more different."

"What did you do while at Nexus?"

"Well, after Shepard knighted Garrus and me..."

VVVVVV

Shepard, Zaeed and Kasumi walked into the plant entrance. They spotted Vido Santiago and several Blue Suns mercenaries run out onto the walkway above. Vido had a cocky swagger as he walked towards the railing. "Zaeed Massani," he said. "You finally found me."

"Vido..." Zaeed growled. He subtly reached for his assault rifle.

"Don't be stupid, Zaeed!" Vido chastised. "I have a whole company of blood thirsty bastards willing to kill or be killed on my command. Or maybe you should, so my men have a reason to put you down like the mad dog you are... again."

Shepard could see the rage build up inside Zaeed. He had to act fast before he did something stupid. "Hey, Vido!" Everyone's eyes were on Shepard. "It ends here." Dark energy surged around him and he charged up onto the platform, impacting the Blue Suns mercenary on the far right. The impact sent the merc into the wall instantly killing him.

Shepard pulled out his sword and sliced the next merc in half. Vido was so terrified from what he saw that he couldn't move. Shepard used his biotics to throw Vido off of the catwalk and he continued to tear the mercenaries to pieces.

Zaeed and Kasumi were just as surprised as the Blue Suns. It took Zaeed a moment to realize Vido was right before him. The coward broke his ankle from the fall. He struggled to get to his feet. Vido screamed as he tried to put any weight on his broken ankle. Zaeed took out his pistol and wickedly grinned as he approached Vido. Shepard leaned against the railing above the area and watched Zaeed approach him.

"How the tables have changed," Zaeed commented.

"C-Come on, Zaeed," Vido plead. "I swear it wasn't personal."

Zaeed fired a round into his leg. Vido fell to the ground.

"Aaaah, fuck!" Vido tried dragging himself away. A streak of blood was left behind himself. "Please Zaeed! Don't do this!"

Zaeed fired a round a round in his right shoulder.

Vido screamed again. "Zaeed, I'm dying here! Please! I'll do anything!"

Zaeed looked over him. "Yeah, there's something you can do." Zaeed aimed the pistol at his head. "Die, you son of a bitch." The back end of Vido's head blew out from the gunshot. After twenty years, Zaeed had his revenge.

Shepard jumped over the edge of the railing and used his biotics to float down. "You good, Zaeed?"

Zaeed fired several more rounds into Vido. "Yeah, I'm good. After twenty years, this bastard is finally dead. I owe you Shepard. Now back to the original mission. There are still more Blue Suns mercenaries in this plant and the company is not paying me to leave a job half finished."

VVVVVV

Tali worked away at her console. Night time has falling upon the landscape giving the Quarian team a reprieve from the deadly sun rays. Though they could not enjoy the moment and appreciate the landscape around them. For the several hours they had before going to sleep, they used to time to gather core samples.

Tali was looking over the data they had so far. She was less than enthused about the mission. It just seemed so wasteful. According to estimates, this planet has about 20 years of resources before it's useless. Not to mention the sun that is rapidly aging. Was it for strategic purposes? This system is not exactly a good place to have a foothold if they decide to go to war with the Geth. Was it for the sun? It's odd, but it's probably just a unique phenomenon. Not really worth risking a whole team of scientists and soldiers over.

Tali did all she could do with compiling the data. It's all there but it's too vague. They need better core samples. She activated her journal to make a note. "We need better core samples. The sun radiation keeps frying our sensors. Shepard used a mining laser on Therum to dig deeper into the ground. Maybe I can do something similar with some demolition charges."

VVVVVV

Shepard examined the tank that held the sleeping Krogan.

"The tank has been successfully integrated into the Normandy's systems, Commander," EDI said.

"What can you tell me about him?"

"Like most Krogan, he has the genophage infect every cell of his body. Other than that, he is an exemplary specimen of the Krogan race. What his attitude is, is something I cannot know."

"Get ready, I'm going to let him out."

"Are you sure? We do not know what this Krogan will be like."

"He's either a valuable asset or a ticking time bomb. I'd rather deal with him now."

"Very well. The controls and consequences are yours."

Shepard approached the console and pressed the button to open the tank. It hissed as the locks disengaged. The bio-fluids drained away inside the tank before it opened up. The tank door opened allowing the Krogan to fall forward. He landed on his knees and vomited some bio-fluids that was caught in his throat. The Krogan stumbled out of the tank and looked groggy. His eyes had trouble focusing.

Shepard took a couple of steps forward. The Krogan's eyes open wide. He roared and charged forward. Shepard didn't hesitate. He charged forward as well. As he approached he tackled the Krogan at the waist using the Krogan's momentum against him. The Krogan flew over him and hit the wall.

The Krogan stumbled to his feet, bewildered. "Human," he stated. "Male. The tank did not say Humans could match up to a Krogan in close combat. Odd... Before you die, I need a name."

"I'm Commander Shepard," he replied while reaching behind his back. "And I don't take threats lightly."

"Not your name," he chided. "Mine." The Krogan approached him. "I know things, but the tank... Okeer couldn't implant a connection. His words are hollow." The Krogan was just a few feet away from Shepard. John's hand rested on Asha. "Warlord, legacy, grunt," he said. The last word got his attention. "Grunt. 'Grunt' was the last. It has no meaning. It'll do. I am Grunt." Grunt was now right in front of Shepard. "If you are worthy of your command, prove your strength and try to destroy me."

"Why call yourself Grunt?"

"It's short. Matches the training in my blood. The other words, Okeer, Legacy, are big things I don't feel. Maybe they fit your mouth better. I feel nothing for Okeer's clan or his enemies. I will do what I am bred to do. Fight and determine the strongest, but his implant has failed. Without a reason that's my own, one fight is as good as any other. Might as start with you."

"I have a strong ship and strong crew. A strong clan. You would make it stronger."

"If you're weak and choose weak enemies, I'll have to kill you."

"My enemies are the Reapers. A race of sentient machines that have wiped out organic civilizations every fifty thousand years. They are more powerful than anything that has ever existed. I think they would make a worthy foe."

Grunt let out a throaty chuckle. "That is a worthy foe. Very well, Shepard. I'll fight for you."

"I'm glad you saw reason," he said while nodding downwards.

Grunt looked down and saw Shepard's sword pointing at his stomach. He expressed an amused grunt. "Offer one hand but arm the other. Wise Shepard. If I find what I want. If I find a clan. I will be honoured to eventually pit them against you."

VVVVVV

Tali sat inside the bunker preparing to record another message in her journal. "Our ancestors walked these halls with uncovered heads. The sun must have been normal then. So much space. Walls of stone... I wish my friends could see it. I wish Shepard were here."

"I bet," Nola said.

This caused Tali to jump a little. She looked back and saw Nola leaning against the wall. "How long were you there?"

"Just for the last part of that entry." Nola pushed herself off of the wall. "I came to tell you that the finalization of data is in progress at the observatory."

"That's good to hear," Tali sighed. "I just want to get this mission done."

"So you can return to your Hesh'alan?"

"Yes..." Tali quietly admitted. "It was hard being away from his side for the last two years. It was like missing a part of your soul."

"It must be nice to feel that way about someone. We should get to the observatory."

Tali nodded and gathered her things. They exited the bunker.

"So, tell me... Have you and Shepard... connected suits?"

"You saw us kiss on Freedom's Progress."

"I know that! I mean did you and Shepard connect suits?" This time there was more emphasis on the word 'connect.'

Tali finally clued in on the sexual euphemism Nola was trying to convey. "Oh! Uh, uh… We really should get to the observatory."

"Keelah, you did!"

Tali feeling embarrassed repeated again, "Uh, we really should get to the observatory."

"We can still walk and talk," Nola pointed out. "Tell me... How was he?"

"Look Nola, I don't want to talk about this," Tali said to change topics.

"Okay," Nola relented. "So he wasn't that good? I'm surprised. I thought the great Commander Shepard would be-"

That set Tali off. "Of course he was good! Not just good but great!"

Nola put up her hands. "Easy, Tali. I'm only teasing. I figured he would. Just wanted to get a little information out of you. Come on. I'm curious. What was it like?"

"Well..." Tali struggled to think of how to describe her times with Shepard. "It was-"

"Tali'Zorah," a voice screeched over the radio.

"Tali'Zorah here," she replied.

"We have detected Geth scouts entering the planet's atmosphere."

"I want all soldiers to fall back to the bunker. Nola and I will get the data from the observatory."

"Yes, m'am!"

"We need to hurry!" Tali said to Nola.

They went into a sprint to the observatory.

VVVVVV

The Illusive Man sat on his chair in front of a dying sun when the QEC beeped notifying him of a communication. The hologram of Miranda appeared before him.

"Miranda," he stated as he took a puff of his cigarette. "What do we owe the pleasure?"

"I have some concerns about Shepard."

"You could have filed a report to send to me."

"This isn't something I can truly express in a report."

"What... concerns do you have about Commander Shepard?"

"He knows a lot more about what's happening than what he's letting on. When we first got to Freedom's Progress he ordered the pilot to fly over a small group of Quarians. That group of Quarians just happened to have his former teammate Tali'Zorah with them."

"You did mention in the report that you pulled up a video of the battlefield. He could have recognized her."

"She was in a completely different suit. There was no way he would recognize her. Unless he saw that thing she had?"

"Thing?"

"Some sort of swordstaff. Shepard had it after landing on Freedom's Progress. I assume it was his from before."

"There you go. That would explain how he recognized it was her."

"But she happened to have it at that time? I've seen the offers collectors and historians have offered the Quarians for that swordstaff. That is not something you bring to every battle."

"What are you suggesting exactly, Miranda? That Shepard was giving orders while he was in a coma?"

"That isn't everything. When we went to the Citadel, I had someone track him. After the meeting with the Council, he met with someone who dressed in a cloak. This person gave him a box that contained the Commander's new armour. I have been monitoring any outgoing communication and at no point did I find a communication from Shepard. And I highly doubt he just called this person once he visited the Council and that person had this armour ready to go. I checked experimental prototypes from many companies and none of them have any armour that comes close to what Shepard is wearing."

"I'll admit that is something of interest. We should keep a closer eye on him."

"There's more. I wanted to learn more about Wilson and why he betrayed us. I looked into his records, but I've come across evidence that his credentials were falsified."

This news caused TIM to shift in his seat. "Falsified?"

"For all intents and purposes, his records are very real, but I dug deeper. I contacted the institutions he earned his degrees from. He has records he was there, but there is no evidence that he was there."

TIM downed the last of his whisky and rubbed his temple. "I'm not sure I understand."

"Wilson had official records that he attended at the institutions, but I had some people check into things. No one at any of these places knew Wilson. Absolutely no one. There is also no video record of him attending these schools. In fact we don't have any photos of him before ten years ago."

"What are you suggesting?"

"That Wilson was an infiltrator from the start. I don't know who he was working for, but that is the only conclusion I can come up with in the light of current facts."

TIM took a puff of his cigarette and placed it on the edge of his ash tray. "This is disturbing news. Any conjectures as to who Wilson was working for?"

"Possibly the Shadow Broker," Miranda replied. "It would make sense that Wilson would try to sabotage Lazarus under order of the Shadow Broker, considering our previous run-in with him."

"Likely possibility." TIM reached for his cigarette and took another puff. "I'm not comfortable with the idea that Wilson has eluded our detection for the past few years."

"He may have sabotaged Lazarus more than we thought before."

"How so?"

"I have done scans without Shepard's knowledge and discovered that Shepard doesn't have a biotic implant."

TIM stabbed the ember end of his cigarette into the ash tray.

"Shepard has been using his biotics without his implant all this time."

"It disturbs me to no end that Wilson tried to directly sabotage Shepard. It was entirely possible that Shepard could have awakened without his biotics because of that stunt." TIM pulled out a new cigarette and lit it. "Though it is not completely impossible for him to use his biotics. It is common knowledge that Shepard operated without an implant. That was one of his qualities that have made him well known in the galaxy."

"About that. I have watched him in combat and just what I've seen. It's beyond anything I have ever seen out of a soldier. His speed, strength and biotic capabilities. It is... super-human. And that bothers me. Lazarus made him a better soldier, but he was already leagues beyond anyone in the Alliance. Even as a child he saved his colony from slavers just with his biotics and his sword. Despite all of his renown, the first ten of his life is a mystery. I need to know this. Did Cerberus or the Alliance have a project where they tried to create a super-soldier and one of the subjects escaped or is unaccounted for?"

TIM gave the question thought. His cigarette hung from his fingers as his rested his hand against his mouth. "No. In any project similar to what could have created Shepard was secure. No one is unaccounted for. Is this everything?"

"Yes, sir."

"I'll have some people look into Wilson's past. That is indeed something to know about. In the meantime, keep an eye on Shepard."

VVVVVV

Shepard was inside the AI core. He felt it necessary to report what happened on Aite to the Order.

"EDI, hook me up with the Order," Shepard ordered.

"Yes, Commander."

Holographic image of the Order appeared before him.

"Commander, we have received your report on Aite," the Rasitian said. "Even after the horrors they committed against us, they still have not stopped."

"The bastards nearly caused an apocalypse before the Reapers even arrived," Shepard cursed.

"But you stopped Overlord," the Rak'en said. "Even if this galaxy doesn't realize it, you saved it again. I hope David can find peace at the Grissom Academy."

"The man's brother actually was trying to convince me to leave David in the machine. Nearly causes the apocalypse and he wants to continue the experiments."

"Cerberus is never going to change," the Exion scoffed. "Success at the cost of innocents. Simply despicable."

"This will merely be another charge against them for when we bring them in to pay for their crimes," the Tia'zu said. "We wish you luck, Artician. Your race would be proud."

"Thank you, sir."

The holograms blinked out.

"If only the Council could be as accommodating," Xiltro quipped.

"If only," Shepard chuckled.

Shepard suddenly felt a presence in the room. He spun to his right and pinned whatever was there in the room to the wall with his right arm. The invisibility cloak gave away revealing Kasumi. Shepard's eyes widened.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"I-I was here to thank you," she gasped, "for decrypting the grey box and deleting just the information and saving the memories."

"How much did you hear?"

"Everything," she admitted. "W-What was all that? I've never seen aliens like them before?"

"EDI lock the door."

"Door is locked."

"I find myself in a tight spot here. This is a secret that I don't want Cerberus to know about, and yet you are on Cerberus' payroll."

"I'm an independent contractor," Kasumi countered. "Anyways, I wasn't paid to spy on you for them. I was paid to fight for you. But after what you did for me with the Hock heist, the money doesn't matter. You earned my loyalty, and I promise you I won't tell anyone about this."

"I do not detect any deception," EDI said.

"Alright, I'll explain myself," Shepard said. He could have mind-melded with her, but his head just hurts too much after the day. "I'm not a Human, Kasumi."

This caused her eyes to widen.

"That's probably the last thing I expected to hear from you. What are you then?"

"I'm an Artician. EDI here is an Exion, just like Xiltro here."

"That would be me," Xiltro quickly popped in as a hologram on Shepard's omni-tool.

"We come from a parallel universe. In my galaxy, we have completely different races, Rasitians, Exions, Rak'en, Tia'zu, Praetorin, and Artician. All of these races are united as one. We lived in peace and prosperity. That is... Until Cerberus arrived in our galaxy."

"How did Cerberus reach your universe?"

"There's a wormhole that connects our two galaxies. They found it and used it. Things started off well enough. It was a learning experience for both sides. Little did we know of Cerberus' ulterior motives. Cerberus agents were stealing technology without our knowledge and performed their own experiments. In their haste, they created a virus that infiltrated our medical nanobot network. Two trillion. Two trillion died immediately."

This elicits a gasp from Kasumi.

"That wasn't the end of it. The virus in the nanobot network reprogrammed everything and caused the dead to rise up and consume the flesh of the living. We spent five years to end the plague. After all of that happened, we were left with an extremely small population. My race, the Articians, was completely wiped out. I am the last of my kind."

John could see a tear come from her right eye.

"The people you saw me talking to was the Galactic Order. My galaxy's version of the Council. My mission was to infiltrate this galaxy and bring Cerberus to justice for their crimes. But that mission has changed. Our main focus now is to stop the Reapers."

"That is... something. But a question remains." Kasumi waved her index finger at him. "Several actually. Everyone knows you came to Mindoir when you were ten. How could you be sent on a mission at that age?"

Shepard laughed a little. "Articians age slightly differently than Humans, or most races for that matter. While we physically mature at the same rate as a Human, we mentally mature far earlier. If that makes sense."

"Somewhat. Why did they send you though? It can't be only because of what Cerberus did to your race."

"You would be right there. I'm not just an Artician. I'm what my people call a Tiven'Vian. A chosen defender. A Tiven'Vian is only born when a cataclysm is approaching. The Reapers are that cataclysm. They are a threat to this galaxy and mine."

"How many know about this secret?"

"Garrus, Joker, Chakwas and Tali know. That's it. Actually, no. That isn't it. The Reapers know. Sovereign's sensors somehow detected Alpha energy readings from me and realized that I am Artician. It's likely that the Reaper fleet now knows."

"Wait, how would Sovereign know what an Artician is?"

"The Reapers once attacked my galaxy. We managed to defend ourselves, but lost a lot of people in the battle."

Kasumi whistled. "That is something else."

"You certainly are taking this news really well."

"Well, I always thought you were very different from most Humans. This explains why. This mission has gotten a lot more interesting."

"Commander Shepard," EDI called out. "I am receiving a message from one of our operatives."

"Bring it up," he ordered.

A hologram of an Exion appeared before them. "Commander Shepard," he said. "I'm Colonel Welk. I was tasked with keeping an eye on Tali'Zorah."

"What do you have to report?"

"She is currently on Haestrom. A Geth scouting patrol has arrived. I'm doing my best to slow them down, but you need to hurry."

"I'll get there right now! EDI, tell Joker to set a course to Haestrom."

"Yes, Commander."


	24. Bond

Chapters 22: Bond

Grunt, Garrus, Kasumi and Shepard sat inside the shuttle as they entered Haestrom's atmosphere. Kasumi sat next to Shepard and was making some last minute preparation with her Locust machine gun. Garrus, sitting across from him, leaned forward and rested on his sniper rifle. Grunt shifted in his seat, eager to start fighting.

Grunt grumbled. "Why are we here?"

"To pick up Tali'Zorah and save her squad from the Geth," Shepard replied.

"Why?" Grunt repeated his question. "They got themselves into this mess, they should get themselves out. Anyways, Quarians are not meant for the battlefield. Tank says one suit puncture could kill them."

"Tali'Zorah expertise is important to this mission."

Grunt still wasn't convinced. Garrus leaned in towards Grunt and said, "Tali is Shepard's mate."

Grunt's eyes widen. "Oh!"

Kasumi let out a laugh and smacked Shepard on his shoulder. "You didn't tell me you two were together!"

"She must be unique among her people and tough to be Shepard's mate," Grunt commented.

"Oh, she's tough alright," Garrus said. "She is vicious with a shotgun."

"Shotguns. I'm starting to like this Quarian."

"I've heard the rumours," Kasumi said. "Even saw some fan sites that paired you two. I can't even imagine how galactic news stations would react to that news. 'Commander Shepard's Heart Stolen by Quarian'."

"Alright, enough gossip," Shepard said in a slightly amused tone. "We're landing. Everyone be on your guard."

The shuttle touched down. Shepard's helmet activated and slid into place and snapped together. The side door opened allowing the four to step out. The planet was extremely warm. Shepard could see sweat collect on Kasumi's face.

"I probably should have worn something that wasn't mostly black," she commented.

"Come on," Shepard urged his group.

It was made clear just how volatile the sun's radiation was. Upon stepping into the sunlight, the shields of Shepard's squadmates squealed in alarm. Shepard's shield held out without an issue.

"I'm having problems with my shields," Garrus said.

"Then we fight in the shade, but no hiding!" Grunt declared.

Down the slope they saw several Geth firing through a window into a room next to a gate. Shepard signaled his squadmates to firing at the unaware Geth. Kasumi's submachine gun depleted their shields quickly as Garrus and Grunt used their weapons to tear the Geth soldiers apart. Shepard ran over to the room. Someone inside rose up and fired at him. The rounds hit him harmlessly.

"Oh! Sorry!" the Quarian apologized. "I-I thought you were more Geth."

Shepard's helmet pulled apart and folded down. "It's alright. What's your name?"

"Zaic," he replied. "Zaic'Queta vas Rayya."

"Zaic, I'm Commander Shepard. We're here to get you people out of here."

"Thank Keelah. Though how did you know we were in trouble?"

"Does it matter?"

"I guess not. A Geth patrol came in and started attacking. I was separated from the rest of my group so I held up here to buy them some time. The rest of the squad has likely fallen back to the bunker."

"That would be the right direction to head to," Garrus said.

"Can you take us there?" Shepard asked.

"Yes," Zaic replied. "But there are a ton of Geth between here and there."

"Don't worry," Garrus said. He ejected a heat sink from his sniper rifle. "We have a lot of experience killing Geth."

"So I heard. I'll open this gate."

The five walked through and saw a dropship fly over head and drop half a dozen Geth.

"Incoming dropship!" Garrus announced.

While Shepard's squadmates fired at the Geth troopers, Shepard was using his closed comm. to prevent anyone from hearing. "Welk!"

"Yes, sir?"

"I need these Geth ships taken care of!"

"Discreetly?"

"Discreetly."

Shepard joined in on the fight. More Geth appeared in the area up ahead. John noticed the catwalk to the right. "Everyone to the catwalk! We'll flank them!"

They all ran up the ramp and took cover in the shade. There were Geth waiting up there for them.

"Grunt, I need the way cleared!"

"Yes, Commander." Grunt adjusted his weapon and fired a concussion shot that sent the Geth onto their backs.

"Move now!"

Shepard's squad moved forward and fired rounds at the Geth that were on the ground. The catwalk led to the left flank of the Geth in the back of the area. The overlook gave them an excellent high-ground advantage. The Geth happen to take cover around some explosive crates. Shepard nodded to Zaic. Zaic popped out of cover and overloaded the crate killing the Geth in the area.

"Nice shot," Kasumi commented.

"Thanks."

"The way looks clear," Shepard said.

"Then we move," Grunt said. "I want to squish more of these Geth!"

The group moved through the building and found some dead Geth and Quarians. Two Geth were firing out of the building at a location down below. Shepard nodded to Grunt and Garrus who shot down the two Geth before they were noticed.

Zaic crouched next to one of the bodies and mutter something that Shepard couldn't quite hear. It sounded like a prayer. With the gunfire quieted a little a voice could be heard. "Break, break. OP 1. This is squad leader: Kal'Reegar. Do you copy? The Geth sent a dropship towards OP 2. Tali'Zorah is secure, but we need back-up."

Shepard walked over to one of the dead Quarians. There was a radio next to his body. He picked it up and said into it, "Reegar? This is Commander Shepard. I'm sorry, but your team here didn't make it."

"Patch in at 061 Theta."

Shepard made the adjustments to his comm. He watched the Quarian squad down below fight back at an opposing Geth forces.

"I don't know why you're here, but frankly I don't care. I could use all the help I can get. We were sent here to research the sun. The Geth happen to find us. Lost a lot of my people here."

The fact that Shepard is still alive means that Tali is still okay. "How are you holding? I can be there in a few minutes."

"Be careful, there are a lot of Geth between you and- Look out! Dropship incoming!"

Shepard's group saw the dropship fly in. As it flew over head, a surge of electricity went around the ship. The ship flew away from the Quarians and fired on the Geth forces and the building they were hiding in.

"I have full control over their dropship," Welk said over the comm. The Geth dropship spun around and crashed into the area in the distance. "You don't have to worry about anymore Geth reinforcements."

Garrus moved up next to Shepard. "Friends?"

"Friends," he said back.

"What in Keelah's name just happened?" Zaic exclaimed.

"A fluke?" Kasumi guessed.

"Let's meet up with the squad down there," Shepard said.

They jumped down and made their way to the three bewildered soldiers. "Are you all alright?" Shepard asked them as they approached.

"Did you see that?" one of them asked. "The damn ship just went berserk."

"Maybe luck is in our favour," he said. "I'm here to find Tali'Zorah."

"The way to get to her is through here," the second soldier nodded to the bunker. They entered inside and found many dead Geth in the room. One Geth was crawling towards the door. Shepard pulled out his pistol and fired a round in its head.

"A lot of Geth."

"We had to break down the door to stop them from getting to our flank. Tali'Zorah may be able to open the door from where she is."

A holographic image of Tali appeared at the other side of the room. "Tali'Zorah to base camp. Do you read?"

One of the Quarian soldiers ran over to the console and answered, "Tali'Zorah. This is Helo with Zaic, Dekka and Iola. We're clear of Geth thanks to your Human commander."

"John's here?" she exclaimed.

Shepard walked next to Helo. His helmet opened up to reveal his face to her. Shepard said, "Hey there."

"It's really good to see you. But how did you know I was here?"

"A little birdy told me," he replied in jest. The joke was completely lost on all of the non-humans. Kasumi gave a little chuckle. "Doesn't matter. We need to get you all out of here safely. The door here is busted. Can you do anything to help?"

"Um, yes. I should be able to open it from here. There! Be careful, Shepard. Oh, and you should run into Reegar on your way. Try to keep him alive."

"See you soon." The image flickered out. The helmet folded around his head as he turned to the soldiers. His lens flashed blue as the helmet finished closing. "Alright, who wants to kick some Geth ass?"

The soldiers gave a roar alongside Grunt. The squad of eight went through the door and down the stairs. There were two pathways to the other building. Two drones appeared briefly before the group and then vanished.

"Cowards," Grunt growled. "The drones can hide!"

Shepard pulled out his pistol and fired two rounds. The drones reappeared with a large hole in each of them. They fell to the ground and blew it apart. "Not very well," he quipped.

"Look out there's more!" Garrus called out.

Half a dozen Geth drones flew into the area. A Geth Prime came walking down the left walkway while it fired its revenant assault rifle. Shepard looked to the Quarian soldiers. "Use suppressing fire down the left walkway! We'll take the right."

The Quarians took cover and used suppressing fire on the Geth Prime. The large Geth soldier moved into cover. Shepard moved down the right to take its flank. Garrus and Kasumi used overload on the swarm of drones. Grunt used a concussion shot on the last flyer.

The Geth Prime moved into the right walkway to see Shepard ran at it with his swordstaff extended. It fired off a couple dozen rounds at him. The rounds impacted Shepard's shield which did nothing to weaken it. He swung the blade up the middle splitting the Prime in half. Its white blood pooled around its body.

Without the worry of the Prime, the other soldiers were able to focus on the drones flying into the area. Shepard heard another familiar stutter and saw a second Prime enter the area. Shepard held his swordstaff as a spear and threw it with his physical strength and biotics. The blade glowed green as it flew twenty feet and impaled the Geth Prime. The force of the object caused it to fall onto its back.

The Prime tried reaching for the weapon and pull it out. Shepard jumped onto its stomach and grabbed the swordstaff. In one swift motion he cut the Prime up the chest splitting its top half into two. The Geth squealed and stuttered from the massive damaged. Shepard stabbed the sword through its neck killing the synthetic.

The soldiers walked up to him as he stepped off of the corpse. "Remind me to never get on your bad side," Iola joked.

They continued into the building. The shutters were closed. Shepard approached the control panel and activated it to open. It revealed the area in front of the observatory... Along with a Geth Colossus. The giant turned around and charged up its cannon.

"Colossus!" Shepard yelled. "Get down!"

The Colossus fired a blast at their position. All of the soldiers managed to get down in time. They got to their feet and rushed through the door on the left.

Grunt gave a chuckle. "This is why I follow you Shepard. Big things!"

"Over here!" a voice called out.

Shepard spotted another Quarian soldier taking cover and firing rockets at the Geth on the field. He took cover next to him while the rest stayed behind the wall. The helmet of Shepard's suit peeled down.

"Neat trick. Squad leader Kal'Reegar. Migrant Fleet Marines. We talked on the radio before that dropship arrived. Still got no idea why you're here, but this isn't a time to get picky." The Colossus fired a round at their position creating a loud boom. "Tali's inside over there. The Geth killed the rest of my squad, and they're trying to get to her." Kal gave a glance to the four Quarian soldiers. "I see you helped several of my soldiers. Thanks for that. But like I said, the Geth are trying to get tot Tali. The best I've been able to do is draw their attention."

"What's the situation with the Geth?"

"The Geth are near platoon strength, but the Colossus is the worse part. It's got a repair protocol. Huddles up and fixes itself. I can't get a clear shot when it's down like that. I tried to move in closer, and one of the bastards punched a shot clean through my suit."

"How's bad is your suit damaged?"

"Combat seals have clamped down to isolate contamination, and I'm swimming in antibiotics. The Geth might get me, but I'm not going to die from an infection in the middle of a battle. That's just insulting."

"We need to get to Tali. I think I have an idea. You and your soldiers give my squad covering fire from this position. My squad will handle Geth on the lower levels. I'll head up on the walkway on the right and from there I'll try to send a viral program to shut down the Geth in the area."

"You have a... viral program that'll shut down Geth?"

"Is that what I am now?" Xiltro said sarcastically on the closed comm.

"Within an area. Though I doubt it'll do anything to the Colossus."

"You could have a little faith in me."

"I'm hoping to break down their defenses long enough for me to get in close and tear that Colossus apart."

"You sure that program will work?" Kal asked.

"Definitely."

Kal looked to his soldiers. "You heard the man. Give his squad cover fire!"

"Garrus, Grunt and Kasumi!" Shepard called out. "Take cover in the middle of the area and take down any Geth as I get into position to send the virus!"

"Yes, Commander," Garrus replied. The squad of four ran down the ramp. Garrus, Grunt and Kasumi took cover and fired at any Geth that approached them.

Shepard dashed up the ramp. The Colossus fired a blast at him. He ran out of the way and took cover. "You ready for this Xiltro?"

"More than ready."

Shepard popped out of cover and pointed his omni-tool at the area below. Green electricity sparked around a Geth trooper. It caused the Geth to stop fighting. It dropped its weapon and spasm in place. This made it an easy target for the soldiers below. The electronic entity jumped between Geth causing the same reaction.

Shepard moved along the walkway and half a dozen Geth exited a hallway on the right. Energy blasted forth from his hands which sent the troopers over the railing on the left. He saw Grunt, Garrus and Kasumi move quickly through the area as Geth after Geth became disabled. The Colossus stepped to its left to face Shepard as he got to the end of the walkway.

Down below Grunt, Garrus and Kasumi had very little trouble killing the Geth that stood in their way. The green electricity jumped from Geth to Geth causing them to go into a seizure. Grunt ran up to one and grabbed it by the leg and arm. He used his strength to pull the Geth apart in two. "Ha, ha!" he roared. "I want more."

Garrus just sighed shaking his head. "Don't get too carried away, Grunt."

Kasumi glanced over to the walkway to see Shepard launch half a dozen Geth over a ledge. "How is Shepard when he is pissed off?"

Garrus briefly froze. "Horrifying. To see Shepard pissed off is likely the last thing you'll see."

John jumped down and charged at it with Asha Bel drawn. The blast from the Colossus' cannon missed Shepard as he charged forward. The giant lifted its leg to stomp on it. The slow behemoth could barely get its leg several feet off of the ground before it was sliced off. An internal alarm went off as the Colossus struggled to stay upright.

Dark energy formed around his arms. He launched the energy at an opposing leg to make the behemoth fall onto its stomach. As soon as it did, Shepard ran onto its back. The green entity that was bouncing around the field returned to his omni-tool.

"Time to take this overgrown excuse for scrap metal down," Xiltro said.

The Colossus tried to turn its head to fire at Shepard, but it could not turn its head that much. Shepard spun his blade and in one swift motion decapitated the Geth construct. Its legs briefly twitched before becoming completely immobilized. White synthetic fluids poured from the neck hole and leg wound.

"Just a sec," Tali said over the comm. "I sealed the door to prevent any Geth from getting in."

Shepard approached the door and saw his squadmates catch up. Grunt examined the Colossus' corpse. "You are a very worthy warrior, Shepard."

The hologram panel on the door turned green allowing them to enter. There were a lot of Geth corpses skewed around the room.

"Maybe this Tali is a worthy mate to Shepard," Grunt said in a hushed tone to Garrus. Kasumi overheard the commented a laughed.

"I just need to finish this download," Tali said.

Nola and Vell were leaning against the wall and console waiting for her to finish. "Hello again, Commander," Vell greeted.

"Nola," Shepard acknowledged. "Vell. It's good to see you two are well."

"Thanks to you," Nola said.

"That's it," Tali sighed in relief. She turned around and fought the urge to simply run to him and embrace. "Thank you for coming, John. I don't think we would've made it out of here without your help."

"What were you all doing here?"

"Haestrom's sun is destabilizing." A holographic image of the sun appeared over Tali's omni-tool. "Thing is though, it's happening way too fast."

"Any idea why it's destabilizing?"

"It's probably dark energy. Though without further analysis this is just theory."

"This is the worst romance talk," Nola sighed.

"Hug him for Keelah's sake!" Vell said.

Kasumi laughed. "I like these two. Can we recruit them as well?"

Tali and Shepard took their advice and embraced. "I missed you so much," he said.

"I missed you, too, John."

"Think you can join my crew again?"

"I made a promise and I kept it," Tali said as she released him from the embrace. "Vell and Nola will take this back to the Admiralty Board. If they have a problem with me joining your crew, they can go to hell. I just watched the rest of my team die."

"Maybe not the whole rest of your team, m'am," Kal said as he entered.

"Reegar! You're okay."

"Your Captain is even better than you described. That Colossus didn't stand a chance. Also thanks to your Captain, Helo, Zaic, Dekka and Iola are alive and well."

Tali looked to her Commander with a warm heart. "You protected them..."

"Of course I did. You know me... Always saving the day."

"As always."

"Kal, if need be, the Normandy can give you a ride to the Flotilla."

"Thank you for the offer," Kal thanked, "but the Geth haven't attacked our ship. If we get out of here soon, we'll be fine."

Tali looked to Kal'Reegar. "I'm afraid I won't be joining you, Kal. I'm joining Commander Shepard."

"Noted. I'll be sure to get the data to the Admiralty Board." Kal looked to Shepard. "Take care of her, Commander."

"I will," he replied. "That's a promise."

VVVVVV

Shepard sat by his desk in his cabin facing EDI. He was using her to communicate with Guardian Command.

"On a final note," EDI stated, "Stage 1 is ready to be initiated. We just await your approval."

Shepard leaned in his chair and released a breath. He went back forward and said, "Approval for initialization of Stage 1 by order of Supreme Commander John Shepard. Authorization code: 523-Treyo-Nak'ka-Zun."

"Orders received," EDI replied. "Stage 1 has been initialized."

"Anything else, EDI?"

"That is all, Commander. Just to notify you, Chief Engineer Tali'Zorah has finished her inspection of Engineering and is now ascending in the elevator to your cabin. I'll set your quarter's privacy level to Emergency-only."

"Thank you, EDI."

Shepard sat there waiting for the doors to open. A minute after EDI said she was coming, the doors opened. Tali took a step in and was initially shocked at the size of the cabin. "Keelah."

Shepard got to his feet and said, "Pretty big and extravagant, but I'm not going to complain too much."

Tali couldn't say anything as she embraced him.

"Things can get back to normal, my love," he said.

"Are there any...?"

"I've dismantled all bugs in my cabin, the AI core, med-bay and the core. It's okay to say anything here."

Tali released the clamps to her helmet and freed her head so she could kiss him. The warmth of his lips helped ease the stress she has felt for the past while. It felt right to her that she was here now. She will no longer be away from his side. No more Trials.

"I really missed your touch," she said with some tears of joy.

"I miss looking into your beautiful eyes. Come with me," he beckoned while guiding her around the display case towards the bed. They sat down at the edge of the bed. Shepard held Tali's hands and softly rubbed the top of them with his thumbs. He gave her another peck on the lips. "I love you so much."

"I know, I love you too," Tali said while lifting his hand and cupping her face with it. She kissed his palm and just enjoyed the heat that radiated from his hand.

"I understand I've been gone a while... And that you might be, um, uncomfortable... going back to exactly to where we were before... before I was absent." John stumbled over his wording which made Tali smile a little at the 'invincible' Commander Shepard's attempt to woo her. "I just want to let you know that I want go at your pace. The last thing I want is for you to feel uncomfortable."

Tali smiled. She moved to sit on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. Tali kissed him again. "You're really good to me, you know?"

"I try." He kissed her forehead. "How have you been adjusting on the Normandy?"

"I like the quiet. Though I miss the familiar faces. Pressly. Engineer Adams. It doesn't seem right that Cerberus is running things."

"You know better than anyone that really isn't true."

Tali chuckled. "They won't know what hit them. I talked to Kasumi recently and she told me about what happened. Can she be trusted?"

"She may be a thief, but she is a good person. I trust her. Also Joker knows about me now."

"Anyone else?"

"No. Though I believe that Miranda has suspicions."

"That's not good."

"I doubt alien from another universe will come to mind for explanations. What do you think of Kasumi?"

"She seems nice. We talked a lot."

"I thought you two would get along."

"Why? Because she's a thief?"

"What? No. I didn't mean to-"

"I'm teasing you, John. We got along very well. Though she kept asking questions about us being together. Intimate questions."

"And what have you been saying?" he asked with a smirk.

"You're terrible," she said in mock accusation. Tali let out a yawn.

"Tired?"

"Yeah..."

"Would it be too much to ask you to sleep here tonight?"

"Just tonight?"

"Every night," he clarified with a smile.

Tali got off of his lap and went around the bed while removing the accessories of her suit. The main suit stayed on, but the decorative wraps and belts came off along with her boots, gloves and shin guards. Shepard removed his shirt and pressed a button to kill the lights. Only the light of the fish tank illuminated the room. They crawled under the sheets and lay on their sides facing each other. Shepard wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close.

"I missed this," she cooed. "Being in your embrace."

"As do I." Shepard adjusted himself so he planted in elbow in the pillow and rested his head on his hand. "The Order and I have come to a decision. After this mission with the Collectors, we will reveal ourselves."

"Really?"

"Yes. Preparations have been made and our military is at full force. Basically we're going to test the Council's competence at this point. We believe that this mission to defeat the Collectors will hold the evidence we need to prove to the Council that the Reapers exist. At this point their reaction will determine our interaction with them. For now, we have initiated Stage 1 of our offensive."

"What's Stage 1?"

A smile crept across Shepard's face as he replied, "To ensure maximal galactic stability during the Reaper conflict, most or all destabilizing variables must be eliminated."

"And what does that mean?"

VVVVVV

If there was only one good thing the dirty Humans brought to the galaxy it was coffee. Tarsk took a sip from his mug. "Has the signal been located?" His top row of eyes blinked followed by the bottom row.

"Yes, Captain," Oxle replied. It is currently in orbit next to the planet over there. He pointed to a small dark brown planet. "Your other two cruisers, Dawk and Vennen Ral, have joined us in this run"

"Excellent. Take us in."

The planet grew as they approached. There in the planet's orbit was an unusual vessel. "The ship is cruiser class. There is no IFF signal coming from the vessel, or at least one I can recognize. Also this ship doesn't match any known LADAR silhouettes."

"Is it possible that we've found a Prothean ship?"

"No. Our LADAR would have recognized it as such. Also the ship does not look like it's very old. In fact it looks new."

"Then this means it could be a first contact situation."

"Quite possibly. Should we continue?"

"Yes. A new alien race could be worth a lot on the slave market."

"With all due respect, we don't know their capabilities."

"Do it. Now. Order our cruisers to surround the ship."

"Yes, sir." Oxle looked to his console and sent forth the orders to the other two cruisers. "Orders have been sent."

"Excellent. Open all communication channels."

"Channels are open."

"This is Captain Trask Il-To. Identity yourself, vessel."

The vessel looked powered down, so it was possible that it was deserted. Suddenly a voice chirped through the comm. "This is Captain Tev'ra Hiy of the GSV Scylla."

"Captain, your vessel has been surrounded. Surrender."

Laughter came from the Scylla, and not just from the Captain. "You have no idea who you are dealing with. Your vessels are outmatched."

Tarsk growled at the arrogance. "Just when I didn't think there could be a race more infuriating than the Humans! Fire upon its engines!"

The three ships fired upon the unknown vessel. A large force field prevented all of the attacks from hitting their intended target.

"Reports! Have our attacks have done anything?"

"Nothing," Oxle replied. "Their shields are at 100%! It is different from kinetic barriers. I have never encountered anything like this before."

"Our turn," Tev'ra said.

The Scylla came to life as it lit up and moved. The Batarians have never seen a cruiser that was so agile. Several smaller vessels emerged from it.

"What are they doing?" Tarsk demanded.

"It appears to be boarding parties."

"Are they mad?"

"I don't know- What the hell?"

"What?" Tarsk roared. His patience was becoming short.

"Something is in our systems. I'm locked out. Fuck! Weapons systems are offline. Propulsion is offline!"

"Get them back online!"

"I-I can't! Every time I find a way in, I'm closed off. Piece of shit!"

"That's not very nice," a synthetic voice said in a mocking tone over the comm. "I have feelings you know."

"Is that one of the aliens?" Tarsk asked Oxle.

"N-No. Captain... I-It's what's locking me out."

"An AI?"

"I prefer Electronic Entity. Artificial Intelligence implies I'm not really alive. By authority of the Galactic Order, your vessels and lives are forfeit."

"You bastards have no idea what you're getting into!" Tarsk roared. "If not the Hegemony, then the Citadel will fuck you up! AIs are illegal!"

"We know all about every faction. We have been watching this galaxy for decades now. Your slaving days are over. The slaves on your vessel will be freed."

Tarsk turned to Oxle and said, "Get every soldier on their feet to defend this ship!"

"Order has already been sent. We've had reports of fights in the lower decks."

"And?"

"Nothing. Nothing is stopping them. According to the reports I have received, their armor and shields are impervious to harm. Their weapons are able to go right through our shields. They're approaching the bridge!"

Tarsk slid into his chair. 'It's over,' he thought as the doors blew open

VVVVVV

Several days have passed since the mission on Haestrom. For the time being, the Normandy crew waited for communication from The Illusive Man. For now they looked into various tips and rumours about activities in the Terminus. Intelligence reports led Shepard's crew to a planet called Joab. There is supposed to be a Prothean dig site on the planet. The resistance at the site was heavy, but Shepard along with Garrus and Tali were able to go through them with ease.

The entire facility was set up around several Prothean temples. Two of them were in the ground and out of reach. A third temple was inside a room in the back of the facility. The temple was about ten feet tall. In front of it was a Prothean beacon.

"Is that a... Prothean beacon," Tali gasped.

"Like the one on Eden Prime and Virmire," Garrus added. "Think it has any useful data?"

"Maybe," Shepard replied. "Only one way to find out." He approached the beacon and pressed a few buttons. The beacon lit up and a burst of energy came out. Visions passed through Shepard's head. It was the images he saw the last time he used a Prothean beacon. A new image was added to the vision though. It was of the Collectors. Why? The image ended and Shepard got to his feet.

"Are you okay, John?" Tali asked.

"I'm okay," he assured her.

"Did the beacon give you anything?" Garrus asked.

"It added a new part to my vision. It was of the Collectors."

"Then the Collectors are older than we thought if they were around during the Reaper attack on the Protheans."

"I'll have to make a report to the Order about this. Well, we're done here. Let's head back to the shuttle."

They went through the doorway to be greeted by gunfire. Someone with an assault rifle. They took cover around the door.

"I thought we took out all of the mercenaries," Garrus grunted.

"Looks like we missed one," Shepard stated the obvious. "Tali. I want you to distract his with Chiktikka. Once he's distracted, I'll go in."

"Right," she said as she activated her omni-tool. The drone appeared next to the mercenary's position.

Shepard ran out and over the crates. He took out Asha. Shepard could see the mercenary. It was a Turian dressed in black armour and helmet with red stripes along the sides. He was not a Blue Suns mercenary. The Turian destroyed the drone's micro-frame and refocused on Shepard who was above him.

The Turian took aim with his assault rifle. Shepard swung Asha and sliced his assault rifle in half. The Turian jumped back. Shepard watched him reach behind his back and pulled out a sword of his own.

'This is unexpected,' he thought.

The Turian charged forward with his sword. Shepard blocked it with the staff end of Asha. It wasn't enough to hurt but it gave him some distance. Shepard moved forward and made stabbing motions with his sword. The Turian redirected the attacks away. This guy was good.

The Turian made another attempt to strike at Shepard. Shepard dodged the attack and swung Asha. The swipe sliced across the eye level of his helmet. Shepard raised his hand and projected energy at the Turian sending him into the wall.

The Turian still stood against the wall and quickly tried to remove his helmet. The last attack destroyed his view. Shepard charged forward prepared to kill him. The Turian ripped the helmet off and held his blade up.

Shepard stopped in his tracks. The Turian was surprised from Shepard stopping his attacks.

"Nihlus?" Shepard's helmet retracted revealing his face.

"Shepard?" Nihlus gasped. "I thought you were dead."

"I thought you were in a coma."

"I woke up," he quipped.

Garrus and Tali came to Shepard's side. "Who is this, John?" Tali asked.

"Garrus, Tali, this is Nihlus Kryik. He was the Spectre who put my name forward for Spectre consideration."

"From what I've heard from the reports, it was in good judgment that I put your name forward. Saviour of the Citadel. You certainly know how to impress."

"What are you doing here?"

"I was here on a mission to investigate some Prothean ruins. Didn't expect to see you here. I've heard some disturbing rumours about you. Cerberus."

"A temporary alliance to deal with the Collectors. I'm sure you've read my records front and back. Did anything in it suggest I had extreme pro-human views?"

"No," Nihlus replied plainly. "Quite the opposite in fact." Nihlus swung his blade and sheathed it. "The Collectors? Interesting. Why them?"

"They have been abducting human colonies. Worse we believe they are working for the Reapers."

"The Reapers... I've read about them in your reports. The Council believe Sovereign to be nothing more than a Geth super weapon."

"And what do you believe?"

"They're full of dokenov. I've done my research. Everything points to these Reapers and frankly the Councilors are irresponsible to ignore your warnings, after being right time and time again. Something needs to be done. This is why, if you would be willing, I'd like to join your mission."

"I could use all the help I can get, Nihlus. Welcome aboard." The two shook hands.

"I look forward to this mission," Nihlus said.

They started walking towards the exit. "When did you take up a sword?"

"Been looking into your combat techniques and realized your swordsmanship was very effective at close combat since a kinetic barrier don't block large objects. Took up lessons and been using this sword since. Though tell me, how did you cheat death."

"Well..." Shepard started.


	25. On the Horizon

Chapter 23: On the Horizon

The shuttle entered the cargo bay and landed. As soon as the cargo bay door closed, Miranda exited the elevator. To greet Shepard's team. She was surprised to see the extra soldier. "Commander, who is that?"

"This is Nihlus Kryik," Shepard said. "A Spectre. He was the one who put my name forward for Spectre consideration. He'll be joining our mission."

"Shepard, usually we should have prior knowledge of any individuals you wish to recruit so we are able to put together a dossier."

"If I find people who are willing to fight by my side, I'm going to recruit them, whether or not I have a dossier."

"Very well, Commander," she relented. Miranda approached Nihlus. "Welcome aboard, Agent Nihlus." The two awkwardly shook hands. Miranda looked to Shepard. "The Illusive Man is currently waiting to speak with you."

"About time," Shepard sighed. "Need any help settling in Nihlus?"

"I'll be fine, Commander. I think I'm going to explore this vessel first."

VVVVVV

Shepard's hologram appeared in front of The Illusive Man. TIM took a puff on his cigarette and immediately said upon the completion of Shepard's hologram, "Shepard. I think we have them!" A hologram of the Milky Way appeared between the two. The image zoomed in on a green planet. "Horizon—one of our colonies in the Terminus systems—just went silent. If it isn't under attack, it will soon be. Has Mordin come up with the countermeasures for the seeker swarms?"

"Not yet," Shepard replied.

"Let's hope he works well under pressure. There's something else you should know." TIM took another puff of his cigarette. "One of your former crew members—Ashley Williams—is stationed on Horizon."

"Last I checked, Williams was in the Alliance. What is she doing in the Terminus?"

"Officially it's an Alliance outreach program to the Terminus colonies to improve relationships. They're up to something. If Williams is involved, it's big."

"The Collectors just happen to pick a colony one of my former crew mates is on? That isn't a coincidence."

"It shouldn't be so surprising that the Collectors are interested in you. Especially if they're working for the Reapers. They might be going after her, to get to you."

"Send the coordinates. We'll head straight there."

"This is the most warning we've ever had, Shepard. Good luck."

The connection closed.

"Joker, set a course for Horizon," Shepard ordered. "And notify Garrus, Tali and Nihlus that they're needed groundside. I'm going to see the professor."

"Aye, aye, Commander."

VVVVVV

The shuttle entered through the planet's atmosphere. Shepard and his crew were making last minutes checks on their weapons.

"Where did you get that armour from?" Nihlus asked Shepard.

"It belonged to my father."

"Who was your father?"

"It doesn't matter. Associates of mine found it and returned it to me." Before Nihlus could go into further questioning, Shepard then added, "I'm sorry about sending all of you on another mission, but knowing that Ashley is on this world, I thought you would all want to try and save her."

"No need to apologize," Garrus said. "I'm always up for a mission."

"And like you said," Tali reminded. "Ashley needs our help. We don't abandon friends."

The shuttle landed allowing its occupants to set foot on Horizon's ground. The four immediately focused on the giant ship that stood vertically. It looked partially organic.

"Spirits," both Nihlus and Garrus gasped.

"Keelah."

Shepard waved for them to move forward. "Mordin, will these countermeasures hold up?"

"Certainty impossible," Mordin replied over the comm. "But in limited numbers should confuse detection, make us invisible to detection. In theory..."

"In theory?" Garrus repeated. "That sounds promising."

"Experimental technology. Only test is contact with seeker swarms. Look forward to seeing if you survive."

"I'm still trying to figure out if he's insane or genius," Nihlus commented.

"Last time I heard," Shepard answered, "they are two sides of the same coin."

They heard something fly towards them. Several Collectors flew into the area and took cover behind some crates. Nihlus and Garrus took the right flank while Tali and Shepard took the left. Shepard biotically lifted an explosive crate which Tali detonated with a pistol shot. Garrus and Nihlus took advantage of the Collectors' distraction with their ARs.

The Collectors' formation broke sending them into chaos. Shepard ran into the area with Asha in hand. The last Collector drone didn't know whether to focus on Shepard or his two squad mates attacking the flank. Shepard swung his sword and sliced up the center of the Collector. The area was quiet once more.

Nihlus approached one of the bodies and gave it a nudge with his foot while aiming at it with his AR. "Collectors," he observed. "So they really do exist. I'll have to send word to the Council."

"For now let's just kick them off of this planet," Garrus said.

They moved towards a gated community. A thick swarm of seekers flew just a few feet above them.

"At least the countermeasures work," Tali commented.

In the next area a couple of Collectors are seen moving a container. Shepard threw a warp at the closest Collector. Garrus sniped the furthest. This alerted the other Collectors and Husks. The Collectors flew in while the Husks charged straight for Shepard's group.

Shepard sent off a biotic shockwave towards the group of Husks. They were immediately destroyed. Tali summoned her drone within the group of Collectors. Upon its appearance, the Collectors immediately focused on the drone. This gave Garrus and Nihlus the opportunity to move it. One of the Collectors fired its AR at the drone. When they looked up, Garrus and Nihlus were upon them. Nihlus fired his shotgun in the face of one of the Collectors. Garrus let off two burst shots from his AR taking down the other two.

"Area cleared," Garrus announced.

"Those look like the Husks the Geth used on Eden Prime," Nihlus commented.

"So it's true," Tali said. "The Collectors really are working for the Reapers."

"This still won't be enough to prove the Reapers are real though," Nihlus said. "We should hurry."

They went through a gate into the next neighborhood. There on the ground was a Husk body. "These things used to be human," Garrus observed. "This what's left of the colonists?"

"No," Nihlus answered. "The Geth turned their victims into Husks by impaling them on spikes. We haven't seen any since we got here. The Collectors must have brought the Husks. They're taking the colonists alive for some other reason."

"What are they doing with the colonists?" Shepard asked out loud. "Can't be because they want to make Husks."

"Might be best not to think about that," Tali replied.

Shepard kneeled near the Husk to get a better look. "These Husks are different from what we've faced before. They don't have the EMP pulse the previous generation had, but their bodies are more durable and they seem to be stronger. More evolved."

"They still die if you shoot them," Garrus quipped.

"We won't let them take anymore colonists," Shepard declared.

"Right," Tali nodded.

The next area was filled with containers for the unlucky colonists of Horizon. More Collectors greeted the squad. Shepard released shockwave after shockwave to keep the Collectors off of their feet. His squadmates advanced one by one taking down the confused Collectors. They went around the next corner to see another half dozen Collectors taking cover behind some crates under stairs. There were explosive canisters all over.

"Everyone take cover!" Shepard ordered. "I have this."

Shepard's body glowed. He raised his arms causing the canisters in the area to rise up. "Eat this!" he yelled while throwing them at the Collectors. The Collectors' remains were splattered against the wall.

There were no more Collector chirps. The team relaxed somewhat as they advanced. Around the building, they found their first colonist. It was a man helping up a woman, but they were frozen. There was a slight orange glow around them. A dark red mist moved around their body.

"They appear to be inside some stasis field," Tali observed. "Keeps you conscious but completely helpless."

"They've been like this for a while," Shepard said. To the two frozen colonists he said, "I'm not sure you can hear me, but I'm Commander Shepard and I'm not letting these monsters take you."

They entered the alley way. There Shepard found a Collector weapon leaned up against a container. "Garrus and Nihlus, go scout ahead," he ordered.

The two nodded and slowly went ahead. Shepard picked up the weapon and examined it closely. A look of irritation came across his face.

"Shepard?" Tali said.

"This..." he said. "This is a particle beam. This isn't their technology."

"It's Artician, isn't it?"

"Yes. Very primitive recreation of my people's technology, but this is it. We have particle beam weapons for our soldiers and for our ships. Even if this is primitive... This still makes it the most powerful weapon in the galaxy. This can slice right through most kinetic barriers."

"Commander!" Garrus called to him. "We have company!"

Several Collectors flew into the area. Shepard and Tali caught up with Garrus and Nihlus. Shepard tossed Garrus the particle beam weapon. "I lean towards my pistol, sword and powers," Shepard said to him.

The Collectors landed on the ground. One of them started to glow bright yellow. A burst of energy came from it. There were cracks of light all over its body and its eyes glowed.

"I AM THE HARBINGER OF YOUR DESTRUCTION."

"Focus on the underlings!" Shepard ordered. "I'll take on this one!"

Garrus was able to use the particle beam to slice through the Collectors fairly easily while Tali covered him in close range. Nihlus took to taking the left flank. Shepard's focus was solely on Harbinger.

Harbinger threw a yellow-coloured warp at Shepard. Shepard pulled out Asha. He swung the sword causing the warp to split. Shepard flung a warp which caused Harbinger's barrier to weaken.

"ARTICIAN!" Harbinger roared. "YOUR KIND WILL SHARE THE FATE OF THIS GALAXY. NONE SHALL ESCAPE ASCENSION."

Shepard closed the gap between them and swung the sword through its abdomen. Its torso fell to the ground while its bottom half stood up briefly before collapsing. Shepard looked at the bloody torso. There was a mixture of blood, guts and machinery within its body. The Collector was still active.

"TIVEN'VIAN... ARTICIAN... YOU CANNOT STOP US. THE CYCLE WILL CONTINUE."

Shepard stabbed Asha through its head, killing the host. Tali, Garrus and Nihlus regrouped on him. Both Tali and Garrus understood the significance of what Harbinger said. The whole Reaper fleet knew the parallel universe is involved in the war.

"What did it call you?" Nihlus asked Shepard. "Artician? Tiven'Vian?"

"Who knows?" Shepard shrugged. "The Reapers seem to have a preference for the dramatic and talk weird. Come on."

The group approached the garage bay and opened the door. They entered inside. There something fell to the ground. Shepard pulled out his pistol and said, "Company. Get out here. Now!"

A scared man slowly and cautiously walked out from around the generator. Shepard holstered his pistol upon seeing it was a Human.

"You're..." he said in surprise. "You're Human. What are you doing here? You'll lead them right here!"

"You had to have heard them trying to get in. It seems like no one can hide from the Collectors."

"Those things are Collectors? You mean... they're real? I-I thought they were just made up. You know... propaganda to keep us in Alliance space. No! They got Lilith! I saw her go down. Sten, too. They got damn near everybody!"

"What happened?"

"Well, we lost our comm signal a few hours ago, so I went to check on the main grid. Then I heard screaming. I looked outside and saw swarms of bugs. They froze everyone they touched, so I sealed the doors." Anger flashed across his face. "Damn it! It's the Alliance's fault! They stationed that Chief Williams here and built those towers. It made us a target!"

"Why are you blaming the Alliance?"

"We're just a simple farming colony. We've gone unnoticed for this long... until the Alliance came in and built those towers. So of course that grew attention to us!"

"The Collectors have been abducting Human colonies all over the Terminus. The Alliance was trying to help."

"We didn't ask for their help. Too many strings attached."

"Tell me about this Alliance rep."

"Chief Williams? Heard she was some kind of hero or something. Doesn't mean much to me. Didn't mean nothing to me, though. Would've rather she stayed in Council space."

"Any idea what she was doing here?"

"Supposed to be helping us get those defense towers up and running. I get the feeling she was here for something else. Spying on us, maybe."

Shepard looked to his teammates and said, "We can use those defense towers against the Collector ship."

"You would need to recalibrate the targeting system," the mechanic pointed out. "It's never worked right."

"We can figure it out once we get there," Tali interjected. "Just tell us where to find it."

"Head to the main transmitter on the other side of the colony. It's pretty hard to miss. The targeting controls are at the base."

"It's best you wait here," Shepard suggested.

"Yeah," the mechanic agreed. "I'll let you out, but I'm locking the door behind you. I'm not taking any chances. Good luck. I think you're going to need it."

They exited the garage. They could hear the insectoid chatter of the Collectors on the other side of the wall. Shepard peaked around the wall and saw two Collectors. He signaled to Garrus to take the left flank to give them cover fire. Tali was to summon her drone while Nihlus stay close with Shepard and take them in close combat.

"Now!" Shepard said.

Garrus beelined it onto the walkway to give sniper support while Tali stayed behind cover and caused a distraction with her drone. Nihlus unleashed his AR on the Collector on the left while Shepard one-shot the Collector on the right. A couple more Collectors appeared along with a pack of Husks.

Shepard saw the pack heading towards Garrus. He launched a shockwave at the horde blowing them to bits.

"YOUR GALAXY WILL BOW BEFORE US!" Harbinger roared as he flew into the area. "YOUR PEOPLE'S EXISTENCE IS AN INSULT TO OUR ORDER."

A large deformation of a Husk walked out from behind a building. The Scion charged up its cannon and fired a shockwave towards Shepard's position. Shepard ran up the wall to his side and jumped off, flinging himself towards Harbinger's avatar.

"YOU WILL SUBMIT!" it roared before Shepard sliced it down the middle.

Tali ran into the area and summoned a drone behind the Scion. The Scion was distracted while Shepard and Nihlus moved it. Garrus fired round after round from his sniper rifle. The Scion had a thick hide that protected it from harm. A burst of energy came from the Scion that destroyed Tali's drone. The Scion turned towards Shepard and Nihlus.

Nihlus was relentless in firing his AR at the Scion's face. Shepard moved in close and unleashed a devastating biotic blast and sent the unholy horror flying. Energy dissipated from Shepard's fist.

"That was for Tali's drone."

"Area cleared," Garrus announced. "Odd that we haven't seen anymore of them."

"They've probably been loaded onto the Collector ship," Nihlus concluded. "We should hurry."

Shepard approached the gate to the defense array base. He activated the panel, opening the door. The entered through. Two Scions moved out from behind the control base. Tali, Garrus and Nihlus took aim, ready to fire, but Shepard signaled for them to hold. He walked towards them and raised his arms. His body glowed green as the Scions' cannons charged. Green energy surrounded the two horrors and twisted them towards each other. Their shockwaves hit each other at full force in close range.

Shepard observed another horde of Husks approaching their position. He nonchalantly unleashed a shockwave to stop them in their tracks. His group approached the base. Tali got to work on the terminal. After connecting a few nodes, the terminal was back to capacity allowing for communication.

"Joker, do you read me?" Shepard asked over the comm.

"Your signal is weak, but I read you Commander," Joker answered.

"EDI can you bring the towers online?"

"Errors in calibration software can be easily rectified," EDI answered, "but it will take time to bring the towers to full power. I recommend a defensive posture. I will not be able to mask the increase generator output."

"Once the Collectors know this, they will try to stop it," Garrus commented.

"Any other helpful tips?" Shepard asked.

"Just one," EDI answered. "Enemy reinforcements closing in. I suggest you ready weapons."

Right after that suggestion, the sounds of wings fluttering entered the area. They took cover. The Collectors flew in by droves. Shepard's group returned fire in response. The Collectors did their best to be tactical in their approach, but none could get in close. EDI announced to them what was the status of the defense towers, periodically.

"EDI is going to have to hurry," Tali said as she fired her Geth shotgun into the face of a Collector assassin.

Occasionally Harbinger would possess a drone that is on the edge of death. Its dialogue was beginning to truly irritate Shepard.

"ARTICIAN. YOUR WORLDS. YOUR ALLIES. WILL FALL BEFORE US."

"Shut up!" he roared while slicing the Reaper avatar in half.

The flow of reinforcements seems to have finally been stemmed as the sound of fluttering wings stopped. Shepard's squad cautiously walked out from their cover.

"Cannons at 100 percent," EDI announced. The cannons roared to life and started firing at the Collector ship.

As they watched the Collector ship get attacked, an object flew over the building across the field. It was a Husk construct of sorts. It resembled a crab with a beak.

"Take cover!" Shepard ordered.

The Praetorian approached and started blasting them with duel particle beams. They had to move quickly to avoid it. As soon as the beams died out, everyone popped out of cover and bombarded the creature.

The barrage weakened the creature's shield, but as soon as they were damaging its armored shell, it slammed onto the ground and sent out a shockwave as it screamed. Shepard saw on his HUD that its barrier went up. He dashed towards the creature as the shockwave subsided. Shepard jumped onto its back as it rose.

"What the hell is he doing?" Nihlus screamed.

Shepard pulled out Asha. This sword was made to destroy Reapers. Shepard spun the sword and stabbed it through the thick armour of the Praetorin. The creature screamed as the sword slid into its back. Green energy emanated from the blade and started to dissolve the material of the creature. Shepard jumped off of the Praetorian as it shuddered and dissolved.

When the creature dissolved, the Collector ship let out a roar as its engines came to life. The ship lifted off and quickly left the colony behind.

"Goddamn it!" Shepard roared. His helmet dissembled revealing his face.

"No!" the mechanic yelled as he ran into the area. "Don't let them get away!"

"There's nothing we can do," Shepard said. "They're gone."

"They've got half the colony in there! They took Egen and Sten... Do something!"

"I didn't want it to end like this," Shepard said remorsefully. "I did the best I could do."

"Better than most Shepard," Garrus pointed out. He wasn't about to let Shepard feel undeserved guilt. Absolutely no one could have done better.

"Shepard..." the mechanic repeated. The name caught his interest. "Wait. I know that name. Sure I remember you. You're some kind of big Alliance hero."

"Commander Shepard," a voice said. Shepard and his squad's eyes were drawn to Ash who revealed herself from behind a crate. She approached them. "Captain of the Normandy. First Human Spectre. Saviour of the Citadel." Ash scowled at the mechanic. "You're in the presence of a God, Delan. Back from the dead."

"All the good people we lost and you get left behind," Delan shook his head. "Figures. Screw this. I'm done with you Alliance types."

Ash approached Shepard. To say it was a tense and awkward moment was putting it lightly. Ash quickly examined his face and then extended her hand. "I thought you were dead, Commander. We all did."

Shepard shook her hand and said, "It's good to see you again. How've you been?"

A look of disgust came across her face. "That's it? You show up after two years and act like nothing's happened? I would have followed you anywhere! I thought you were gone."

Tali and Garrus felt a growing anger inside them as Ash tore into Shepard. They were friends and comrades. Why is she acting like this?

"You were more than our Commander. Why didn't you try and contact me? Let me know you were alive."

"Ash, I was in a coma from the last two years while Cerberus rebuilt me," Shepard answered.

Ash took a step back. "Y-You're with Cerberus..." Her eyes finally noticed his squad mates. "Garrus... Tali, too... The reports were right."

"Reports?" Garrus muttered. "You mean you already knew?"

"Alliance intel said that Cerberus could be behind our missing colonies. We got a tip that this colony could be next to get hit. I went to Anderson, but he wouldn't talk. But there were rumours that you weren't dead. Worse... that you're working for the enemy."

"These colonies have been disappearing and everyone has been turning their backs on them. As much as it pains me to admit, Cerberus is the only ones doing anything about it."

"Bullshit!" Ash spat. "I know what Cerberus is like. They talk about putting Humans first, but at what cost? I wanted to believe you were alive. I just never expected anything like this. You've turned your back on everything we stood for."

"That's too far!" Tali screamed.

"Ash, you know me," Shepard said. "You know I would only do this for the right reason. You saw it yourself. The Collectors are targeting Human colonies and they're working for the Reapers. There's a lot more going on. I-I can't say exactly without putting a lot of people in harm's way. I just need you to trust me. Believe me."

"I'd like to believe you, Shepard, but I don't trust Cerberus. And it worries me that you do. What did they do to you? What if they're behind it? What if they're the ones working with the Collectors?"

"Damn it, Ash," Tali scorned. "You're so focused on Cerberus that you're ignoring the Collectors. You can't be this blind!"

"Ash, you're letting your anger towards Cerberus get in the way of facts," Shepard said.

"Or maybe you feel like you owe Cerberus because they saved you," Ash countered. "Maybe it's you."

That comment caused Garrus and Tali to stiffen. How could she say that? They knew what Cerberus has done to him. No one, absolutely no one has suffered more than Shepard at the hands of Cerberus.

Shepard ran forward and grabbed Ash by the collar of her armour and slammed her into a crate. The action shocked Nihlus but considering what Ash said, did not completely surprise Garrus or Tali.

"How dare you!" he growled. Shepard's eyes glowed green from the Alpha energy that was surging within him. "You have no idea the things Cerberus has done to me. No one hates them more than me. But I have to put my hatred aside to save this galaxy, whether they appreciate it or not." Shepard released his grip on her collar allowing her to stand on the ground. "Don't you remember the things I have done? I fought to have the Alliance to forgive your grandfather, Ash. I gave everything for this galaxy. If you're not willing to believe in me or my intentions after everything we went through during our hunt for Saren, then I don't even want you on my ship. Good bye, Ash. I wish you well."

Shepard walked away from a shocked Ash and he activated his comm. "Joker, send the shuttle. I've had enough of this colony."


	26. Regret

Chapter 24: Regret

Illium was an extremely warm planet. Due to the hot surface temperature, most structures had to be built at high altitudes. Even then the temperature was well into the 40s. On this planet, Shepard was to recruit the last two people Cerberus recommends for his mission. An Asari Justicar and a Drell Assassin. EDI suggested to him to seek out Liara to find out where the two are.

Before they reached Illium, EDI told him how Cerberus got his body. Liara was the one who recovered his body and turned it over to Cerberus on the belief that they would bring him back. This news hurt him, but he understood the necessity of what she did.

On the way to Liara's office, an Asari called out to Shepard. "Excuse me. Excuse me. Are you Commander Shepard?"

"Yes," he replied. "How did you know?"

"You have an aura about you," she replied. The Asari looked to the sides. "I was asked to give you message if I saw you. It's from a friend from Noveria."

"Can you be a little more specific?"

"I believe the message itself should make it clear." The Asari's eyes rolled to the back. Her voiced changed to one that Shepard remembered all too well. "SHEPARD. WE HIDE. WE BURROW. WE BUILD. BUT WE KNOW THAT YOU SEEK THOSE WHO SOURED THE SONGS OF OUR MOTHERS. WHEN THE TIME COMES, OUR VOICE WILL JOIN WITH YOURS, AND OUR CRESCENDO WILL BURN THE DARKNESS CLEAN. THANK YOU, SHEPARD. THE RACHNI WILL SING AGAIN, BECAUSE OF YOU."

"I'm glad to hear that you're rebuilding. Are you somewhere close by?"

The Asari's eyes rolled back to normal. "The Rachni queen is not here. That message was one of many memories I carry from her. I encountered her on an uncharted world. She saved my life. More than that, she gave me a purpose. They are an amazing people, Shepard. The galaxy owes you a great debt for giving them a second chance."

"I got that they are grateful, but what else was she saying?"

"That the first Rachni war was a mistake. Something soured the voices of their people. In Rachni psychology, that would be like mind control, I think. It doesn't really translate. Anyway, she believes that you are fighting the ones who did that. And she promises to help."

"Mind control," Garrus muttered. "That sounds way too familiar."

"So the Rachni believes that the Reapers caused the Rachni war?" Tali asked.

"I can't say for sure," the Asari answered. "But she was certain that her ancestors were forced into war against their will. Her people aren't naturally aggressive. If they made war, it is not of their own doing."

"Thank you for giving me that message," Shepard said. "I'm glad my friend from Noveria is doing well. There's something I need you to do. I am part of an organization, a powerful one that can help the Rachni."

"I don't think the galaxy is ready for the return of the Rachni yet."

"The organization I speak of is not the Council. We are called the Order. I can't speak of them more here, but to contact them you need to head to the Citadel to find a contact of mine, Aether. On the Presidium, head to the locations I marked on your omni-tool. Sit on the bench there and use the password '876-Zun-Weor-Lout'. Aether will appear and explain everything. Can you do this?"

"I believe I can, but what type of organization is this Order?"

"One that will save us all. I hope to meet you again."

"I guess saving the Queen was a smart move," Garrus commented.

"Yeah. Hopefully the Queen will get along with the Order. I think they will."

They went up the stairs towards the office. Shepard looked to the assistant. "Liara is expecting me."

"Please go right in," she said.

They entered inside to see Liara speaking to a hologram. "Have you ever faced an Asari commando unit before? Few Humans have. Either have my payment or I'll flay you alive... with my mind."

That threat gave Shepard chills. Too much like her mother. Liara turned around and saw him. "Shepard! Nyxeris, hold my calls." She walked up to Shepard and hugged him. "Shepard..." She released him. "My sources said that you were alive, but I didn't believe. It's very good to see you again. And you're here with Garrus and Tali. It's good to see you both again."

"One big happy reunion," Garrus quipped.

"So you have sources now?" Tali said while crossing her arms. Liara gave off an odd vibe to her.

"Sources, informants, even some hired muscles. Shepard isn't the only person with mysterious friends. I need them to do my job. It's paid the bills since you... Well, for the past two years. And now you're back gunning for the Collectors with Cerberus."

"If you know that much, then you know that I could use your help."

"I can't, Shepard. I'm sorry. I have commitments here. Things I need to take care of."

"What's more important than saving the galaxy from the Collectors and Reapers?" Tali asked in an irritated tone.

"I can't say. Look I could use some help. I need someone with hacking expertise. Someone I can trust." Liara sat back into her chair. "If you disable security at key points around Illium, you could get me information I need. That would help me a great deal."

"If it'll help you, I'll do it, but before I do so, I'm going to need some information on an assassin by the name of Thane Krios and an Asari Justicar by the name of Samara."

VVVVVV

Anderson finished reading over an Alliance report on an OSD. He placed it on his desk and sat down while letting out a loud sigh. 'Damn this job.' Anderson pulled out a bottle of whiskey and poured himself a glass.

The doors to his office opened up. Ash, in an Alliance uniform stomped into the office. She looked very upset.

"Williams," Anderson said while getting up. "I wasn't expecting you so soon."

"How could you?" she yelled.

"Excuse me?"

"How could you not tell me that Shepard was alive?" Ash yelled while jabbing a finger in his direction.

"We only found out after you were sent on a mission. Shepard came back and came to meet with the Council and me. The meeting went well. We reinstated his Spectre status."

"How could they when he's working for Cerberus?"

"We owe him the very least the benefit of a doubt. So you found out he is working for them."

"Yes," Ash replied. "I don't know why. Shepard said he was doing this for the right reasons, but he knows what Cerberus is like. Why would he even take their help? Why would Garrus? Why would Tali join them?"

"Tali joined him?"

"I saw her on Horizon with Shepard. I know that she loved him back on the original Normandy, but how could she go back to him after he disappeared for two years and come back working for the organization that attacked the Flotilla. Just where the hell was he for the last two years?"

"Dead," a third voice answered.

Anderson and Ash looked towards the desk and saw a cloaked figure sitting at Anderson's desk with his feet on the desk.

Ash pulled out her pistol and aimed at him. "Who the hell are you?" she demanded. "Where they hell did you come from?"

The intruder pulled away his hood revealing his face.

"Wait..." Anderson said in realization. "I remember you. It was just before the Geth invaded the Citadel. You're Aether. One of Shepard's contacts."

"In the flesh." Aether swung his feet off of the desk and stood up. His glowing green eyes made Anderson and Ash feel uneasy. It was unnatural. "As I said. Shepard was dead for the last two years."

"Bullshit!" Ash spat. "I saw Shepard alive on Horizon. Alive and well."

"You misunderstood me. I said for the last two years he WAS dead. He came back to the land of the living not long ago."

"How is that even possible?" Anderson asked.

"A lot of cybernetics and medical technologies that are leagues beyond anything around here."

"That doesn't explain why he's working for Cerberus," Ash countered.

"He doesn't work for Cerberus!" Aether screamed at her. He quickly regained his composure. "He's trying to destroy them."

"I don't understand."

Aether sighed, rubbed his forehead and mumbled, "Why does Shepard even bother?" Aether looked to Ash. "No, you wouldn't. I saw what happened on Horizon. How could you say those things about him?"

"What was I supposed to think? Shepard was gone for two years and comes back in Cerberus Company. What was I supposed to think? And you haven't clarified what Shepard is trying to accomplish."

"What you were supposed to think was that he's trying to do the right thing! You spat upon the memories of his family and his honour! You're lucky all he did was slam you against a crate and yelled at you."

"Wait!" Anderson cut in. "You know his parents?"

"I am an old friend of his family. Of course I knew his parents. The kindest souls you could ever meet." Aether turned his attention back to Ash. "When you said that Cerberus was trying to manipulate him, or that he's changed... I believe the worse was when you said to him, and I quote, 'Or maybe you feel like you owe Cerberus because they saved you'."

What freaked out Ash was that Aether made a perfect imitation of her voice. How was he able to do that?

"You have no idea the things Cerberus has done to him. They tortured him for years. They've experimented on him. They killed his family. And you had to suggest that Shepard felt like he might owe them for saving his life. They didn't save his life as they were led to believe. WE did."

"Who's we?" Anderson asked. Shepard has had this information network for years yet no one knows anything about them. Despite Alliance interrogation of Shepard and his associates and Shadow Broker sources, no one could find any information about his network.

"The victims of Cerberus." Aether pulled up his omni-tool. A clip briefly played of a little boy being tortured by Cerberus scientists. "The number of people who have been harmed by Cerberus are unfathomable. They have been harming people left and right without any concern for the consequences of their actions. They destroyed the life of the wrong person." Another image appeared before them. On part of it was an adult Shepard and the other was a five year old Shepard. "I freed Shepard. And now he leads us."

"That can't be right," Anderson argued. "Shepard would have been just a child. How could he lead anyone?"

"Shepard is... special. Cerberus wanted him because of that. Shepard leads us and our purpose is the destruction of Cerberus."

"So you're a vigilante group."

"You could say that. But this isn't putting on a costume and running around the streets. This is about getting justice for the horrors Cerberus has committed against us."

"This isn't justice. This is vengeance."

"This isn't vengeance! If it was, we would have attacked the Alliance for starting the organization in the first place. For still being connected to them while they committed atrocities against us. No, this isn't vengeance. You have no idea what they've done. The things they've done to so many races. You think Humans were the only victims? So many have had their lives ruined by them. Though none of their stories compare to what they've done to Shepard. Spirits... What they've done to him, is beyond forgiveness."

"How many are in this organization?"

"We are the victims of Cerberus. We are many. You're still wondering what Shepard is doing with Cerberus? It's to learn about their structure. Though they are providing good Intel about the Collectors. Another reason why this isn't vengeance. Shepard is willing to put his hate aside for this galaxy. Cerberus cannot be defeated by attacking a base here or there. We need to know everything about them. Their sponsors, their members, their associates."

"So Shepard started an organization as a child to destroy Cerberus?" Ash said to clarify. "That sounds fairly farfetched."

"That is half the truth, but truth nonetheless."

"Half the truth?"

"I'm sorry but I have not been authorized to reveal everything."

"Not authorized? By who?"

"By Shepard."

"Doesn't Shepard trust me?"

"Did you trust him? Trust goes both ways, Williams. Shepard would have told you, but then you went and insulted his honour on Horizon."

"Why didn't Shepard say any of this before?" Anderson asked.

Aether picked up a bag and tossed it to the ground. "The same reason he couldn't say anything direct on Horizon. Too many ears." Anderson picked up the bag and found it filled with many electronics. "You really should look into hiring better security. There was a total of 23 bugs and monitoring devices that were placed here by Cerberus, 41 by the Shadow Broker, and 17 by the Salarian STG. The last thing Shepard wants is for Cerberus to know who we are." Aether walked over to the railing and scanned the area. "Originally our sole priority was to end Cerberus, but with the Reapers coming, that has changed. This... status quo that the galaxy has been abiding by for the last several thousand years has to end or it will be the end of us all. Sides will be made. And the final question you will ask yourselves is what is more important? The happy-go-lucky status quo, or embracing destiny." Aether turned to Ash. "A decision you will have to make soon, Williams." Aether flipped his hood over his head. This made the glow of his eyes more apparent. "I only hope that Shepard's faith in you is proven to be well placed. Good bye. To both of you." Aether vanished before them leaving them dumbfounded by the cryptic message he left them with.

Ash moved her hand through the area where Aether was. "What the f-"

VVVVVV

Nihlus activated communication in a back alley on Illium. Before him, the hologram of the three Council members appeared. "Spectre Nihlus," Velarn stated. "Were you successful?"

"I am on Shepard's ship," Nihlus replied.

"What have you discovered so far?" Dalo asked.

"That Shepard hates Cerberus with an unparalleled passion," he answered plainly. Nihlus noticed the look of shock on their faces. "Don't tell me you are surprised by that observation. Even I could tell Shepard is not in line with Cerberus ideals before getting on his ship."

"Still doesn't explain where he has been for the past two years," Velarn dismissed.

"I've asked Lawson about that."

"Lawson?" Tevos repeated.

"A Cerberus appointed second-in-command to Shepard. She was the head of the Lazarus project which was responsible for bringing Shepard back to life."

"Impossible!" Velarn yelled.

"That's what I've found out, Councilor."

"It's obvious that Cerberus is trying to mislead you."

Nihlus wonders if this is the feeling Shepard gets when he tries to tell them the Reapers are real. No. That feeling would still be worse. "With all due respect, Councilor. I think Cerberus would come up with a better excuse than he was dead and we spent four billion credits to bring him back."

"Now I know that they're misleading you. There is no way any organization would spend so much to bring back one soldier."

"Shepard did save the Citadel. And frankly he is actively trying to protect this galaxy from the Reapers."

Velarn sighed in annoyance. "Don't tell me that you're buying into Shepard's Reaper conspiracy."

"I'm surprised that you three are not taking the threat of the Reapers more seriously."

"Because there is no threat. That claim has been dismissed."

"Enough," Tevos interrupted. "Agent Nihlus. Your mission is to keep an eye on Commander Shepard and to ensure that he has not gone rouge. It is not about proving whether the Reapers are real or not."

"Just to let you three know. We managed to save the colony of Horizon. The colonies that having been disappearing in the Terminus were not the result of Cerberus as Alliance Intel has suggested. It was the Collectors."

"Are you sure about this?" Dalo asked. "The Collectors are supposed to be myths."

"I saw them with my own eyes. We even fought the Collector general as it possessed its underlings."

"Possessed?"

"The drones would glow and yellow cracks appear all over its body. At this point it becomes stronger. Its biotics are more powerful and its body became more resilient."

"So the Collectors are real," Tevos said. "That is disturbing. But why are they abducting Human colonies."

"I would agree with Lawson's theory that it has to do with Shepard's and Humanity's victory during the Battle of the Citadel. On the assumption that they're working for the Reapers."

Velarn shook his head. "Is there anything else you wish to report?"

"A couple things. I do suspect something of Shepard, but not along the lines of him being in line with Cerberus. I can't really explain it but it just seems like he is hiding something from the Cerberus agents and that Tali'Zorah, Garrus Vakarian, Jeff Moreau and Helena Chakwas are in on it. I've witnessed them having special meetings separate from any of the Cerberus crew. Frankly, I think they are planning to do something about Cerberus."

"An optimistic theory," Dalo said. "What was the second concern?"

"The Collector general kept referring to Shepard by a specific name. The names in particular didn't translate. I was hoping either the three of you may know."

"And the names?" Tevos asked.

"The Collector General addressed him as Artician and Tiven'Vian."

The Councilors shook their heads.

"For all we know, it could just be Collector curse words," Dalo said. "If there is nothing else, we will leave you to your mission."

The holograms blinked out. Nihlus mumbled some Turian curse words before making his way out of the alley.

A Turian walked into the alley with a pistol drawn. "Give me your cred- Urk!" Nihlus punched the mugger in the stomach and continued walking back to the Normandy leaving him rolling on the ground in pain.

VVVVVV

Nihlus entered through the Normandy's airlock. "Welcome back, Agent Nihlus," EDI greeted.

"Er, thanks EDI." Nihlus was still uneasy about there being an AI on the Normandy. He didn't feel the need to mention it to the Council at the current moment. For the moment she is polite.

Nihlus walked through the CIC. Yeoman Chambers looked up from her console and smiled at him. This woman always made him feel uneasy. No one should ever be this friendly.

"Hello Nihlus."

"Yeoman. Where is Shepard?"

"He's just finishing debriefing our newest addition to our crew."

"Who?"

"A Justicar."

"Hmm. Interesting. Usually Justicars work alone."

A hissing sound came from the door to the lab. Chambers' eyes widen. "Oh, looks like they're just coming out."

Nilhus watched Shepard walk out first. He started to approach him when he froze in his tracks. The Justicar was right behind him. Her eyes landed upon Nihlus and scowled. "You!" they both yelled at the same time.

Nihlus pulled out his AR as the Justicar powered up her biotics. Shepard stepped in between them with his arms stretched outwards. "Nihlus! Samara! Stand down!"

"Commander you have no idea what this Spectre has done."

"I said stand down, both of you."

Samara reluctantly powered down at the same time as Nihlus lowered his AR.

"Now tell me what this is all about."

Samara took a couple steps towards Nihlus. "I witnessed this Spectre kill an unarmed civilian in cold blood."

Shepard looked to Nihlus.

"That is only half the story."

"And what is the other half."

"A lot more was going on than what the Justicar witnessed."

VVVVVV

2178

Nihlus touched down on the ground. He saw smoke plumes coming from Nylia, an Asari village. A distress signal was sent from this location. This was personal business for Nihlus. It was here his sister, Nexira, was doing her studies. She was studying to become a diplomat and was transferred here to learn about Asari culture.

The distress signal suggested a slaving party attacked. Nihlus couldn't let his sister down. Nilhus charged through the forest and quickly reached the devastated village. The area was littered with bodies. The smell of burnt bodies filled the air.

"Nexira!" Nihlus called out. "Nexira!"

Nihlus searched building after building. "Nexira!" In his search he heard the mutterings of unknown individuals. Nihlus quieted down and crept towards the direction of the voices. He peered around the corner of a building and saw several Batarians speaking with an Asari.

The Batarians handed the Asari a credit chit. "Thank you for your assistance. This was an excellent hull for slaves. Not to mention getting the sister of a Spectre. She'll be very valuable to certain individuals."

"For credits like this, I was more than happy to help. Now I have to get out of here before the authorities arrive. I think I'll go with the whole, 'I was on a walk when it all went down. Just think I would have become a slave if I didn't abide by my daily constitution.'"

Anger went through Nihlus' mind. 'That Asari bitch!' Nihlus ran out from around the building and fired several rounds. Each round blew the Batarian slavers' heads. The Asari was in shock from seeing this. She didn't have the time to bring up her biotics before Nihlus slammed the butt of his AR into her face.

The Asari fell to the ground. She was breathing rapidly. "Please don't," she begged.

"What did the people of this village beg when the slavers came? What did they cry out when they watched their loved ones get killed?"

"I-I can tell you where they went. Just let me live."

Nihlus lowered his AR, but did not point it away. "Where did they go?"

"They went to Torfan. But they will only be there for a short time."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I swear upon my life."

Nihlus nodded his head and then pointed his AR at her head. "Make peace with your goddess."

"But you said-"

"I never said I'd let you live. You helped slavers take a village and kidnap my sister. You die here."

"No, please-"

Nihlus fired a round between her eyes. He mumbled a Turian curse.

Torfan made sense to take the slaves. It was a base for the Slavers and criminal organizations funded by the Hegemony. He'll head straight there and get his sister back.

Nihlus looked up from the Asari's body and saw a Justicar. "Odd a Justicar is here," he stated.

The Asari didn't say anything as she opened fire with her AR.

VVVVVV

"You chased me for two weeks until I was forced to take desperate measures to distract you. I started a fire so you would be forced to save the innocents inside the pre-fab unit as oppose to hunting me down. By the time I got to Tofan, the base was annihilated by Alliance forces. My sister was taken to a new location." Nihlus pointed an accusing finger at Samara. "I lost the lead on my sister because of you!"

"I-I didn't know."

"No you didn't because you were too busy trying to kill me instead of listening to me explain to you what happened."

Nihlus looked to Shepard. "You remember those missions we were supposed to go on together to examine your capabilities? They were leads on where my sister was being held, but thanks to Saren, I lost those leads as well."

"Why didn't you mention this before?" Shepard said. "I can have people look for her. Just give me all the Intel you gathered and my people can use the info to find her."

"I would really appreciate it."

"I'll head to the observation room," Samara said solemnly. She gave Nihlus one last look. "If it means anything. I am sorry."


	27. Dark Embrace

Chapter 25: Dark Embrace

The Asari Representative walked over the bridge in the Presidium. She was unsure of what she would find at the location Shepard provided to her. He did say that it was for the future of the Rachni so it was her duty to look into this. She owed her life to the Rachni. The bridge led to an out of sight sitting area.

The Asari walked over to the bench and sat down. There was no one around. Shepard told her this time and place. She trusted him so she said the code he gave her, "876-Zun-Weor-Lout." A man appeared sitting next to her which caused her to jump from her seat.

"Authorization code accepted," he said. The cloaked man stood up and extended his hand. His eyes glowed green. "Good day to you Miss..."

"Corola. Corola N'Yela."

"Miss N'Yela. A pleasure to meet you. I am Aether. By mentioning that authorization code, it means that Shepard has authorized you to know about the Order. Might I ask, what is your connection to him?"

"I am a representative of the Rachni."

"Ah, yes!" Aether said enthusiastically. "I remember now. Shepard freed the Queen on Noveria. It is good to hear that she is keeping in touch. The Order is more than willing to work and fight alongside the Rachni."

"Who or what is the Order?"

"We have much to talk about."

VVVVVV

"Commander, we have an incoming transmission," Joker said over the ships PA.

"From whom?" he asked.

"Garrus' old friend, Teilo."

"I'll take it in the comm room." Shepard made his way into the comm.

The hologram of the Exion agent appeared before him. She placed her right fist over her "heart" and bowed her head. "Commander," she greeted.

"To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Well, this is of a concern with Garrus and Nihlus. Could you call them both up?"

Shepard nodded and said, "EDI, call up Garrus and Nihlus."

"Right away, Commander."

It took a few minutes before the two Turians entered the comm room. "Teilo is everything alright?" Garrus asked.

"Not really. A gang war has broken out between the Eclipse, Blue Suns, Blood Pack and Apostates."

"Who are the Apostates?"

"They are a criminal organization that moved into Omega shortly after the Big Three tried taking down our vigilante group. They took advantage of the weakened hold the Big Three had over Omega. They deal in drugs, weapons, slaves, you name it. This is why I asked for you to call Nihlus up. Our Intel suggests that Nexira is being held by them."

Nihlus slammed his hands on the table. "Are you sure?"

"Very sure. We had operatives look into slave transfers between organizations and found that the last mention of Nexira was going to the Apostates. The leader of this group goes by the name of Armaros. We need help to bring down these four, but we need your help."

"We'll do everything we can to help," Garrus said.

"We'll head straight to Omega," Shepard said.

"One last thing. Garrus... They took Sidonis. The Apostates took him captive just a few days ago."

"Well... the Apostates have just made this personal," Garrus growled.

The hologram blinked out. Nihlus turned to Shepard. "I really appreciate this Commander. I didn't think your people would find her so fast. Who are they?"

"Old friends," Shepard replied. "You'll know more about them soon enough. Till then, prepare yourself, it looks like we have a gang war to win."

Nihlus nodded and left the comm room. Shepard turned to Garrus. "Sidonis is an old friend?"

"He helped me start up the organization. Along with Teilo, we quickly grew in size with people who wanted to make a difference on Omega. Sidonis was a member of the Turian military until he fulfilled his duty. His family was fairly poor, so he couldn't quite start a life for himself. Sidonis ended up on Omega and was disgusted with what he saw there. I met him fairly shortly after arriving there. It would mean a lot to me to get him out of there. I owe him a lot."

VVVVVV

The shuttle flew in next to a warehouse. The perimeter was fortified with turrets and walls. It appears that the group has increased in size since Garrus left. "Looks like they're doing well," Garrus said.

"Let's first see what the current situation is with the war," Shepard said.

The shuttle landed on a designated platform with several soldiers waving them in. The shuttle door opened up allowing Shepard, Garrus and Nihlus to hop out. One of the soldiers walked up to them. "Good to meet you Archangel and Commander Shepard." He saw Nihlus. "Who are you?"

"Spectre Nihlus."

"Ah, a Spectre. Two Spectres will be helpful. I was asked by Teilo to bring the three of you in for a briefing of our current situation. Please follow me."

The three followed him inside the warehouse where Teilo was standing next to a table with several other soldiers. She was reviewing a holographic map. She looked up and saw the three approaching her. Teilo smiled. "Good to see you made it. Archangel. Commander. And Nihlus."

"What's the situation?" Shepard asked.

"Things have devolved into a five-way war over control of Omega. Since their major defeat at our hands, the Big Three have lost power and respect on Omega. Soon after you left, the Apostates moved in and started grabbing power left and right. Aria has remained neutral in this conflict and has stopped any business with all sides. This has only made each side more desperate." The holographic map changed to the main battlefield. It showed an open area with four large warehouses that surround the sides. "This is no-man's-land. Most major conflicts have occurred here since they set up their bases here."

"Why did they set up here?" Nihlus asked.

"This district is strategic to holding Omega. From here a criminal organization can control 53% of Omega due to its location. The goal of each group is to take over the other three warehouses. If any group succeeds, it will make our job that much harder. What we want to do is to have each group eliminated from this area so we can take it over."

"I assume you have a plan?" Shepard said. "Or else taking on the four groups would be suicide."

"I'm going to hack into each group's network and upload false Intel. I am going to force them into one final battle. During this conflict, I'm going to have several agents that I have requisitioned from our network to infiltrate the Blood Pack's, Eclipse's and Blue Suns' base to plant explosives. Each of their warehouses will be destroyed. What I propose that during this conflict, is that you, Commander, go in with your team into the Apostates' base. That's where Nihlus' sister and Sidonis are being held. Eliminate all hostiles inside the warehouse and retrieve the two. While you are doing that our group will mop up the remaining forces in the NML while they are weakened and confused."

"We can wipe out all four groups in a single attack!" Garrus exclaimed.

"Exactly. Before we start this operation, do any of you have any questions?"

"What do you know of the Apostates?" Nilhus asked.

"They're a fairly new group in Omega. They deal in drugs, weapons and slaves. The usual type of criminal group. Though the difference being is that they are brutal and efficient. They have been rapidly expanding since they came here. One more thing."

"Any idea of Sidonis' situation?" Garrus followed up.

"Our Intel shows that he is being held inside the warehouse. He is likely being tortured in there. If we don't move soon, he might not make it."

"Do you know anything about Armaros?"

"Next to nothing. Armaros leads the Apostates and likes privacy. But from what I've heard, Armaros is a brutal fighter and shows no mercy."

"I think that's all we need to know," Shepard said. "Are your people ready to move out?"

"Yes, Commander. I'll give them the word."

VVVVVV

The first explosion went off as soldiers of each army opened fire with their heavy weapons. The combat quickly devolved into chaos as they four-way fight escalated. Several gunships flew around the area bombarding the battlefield.

Down on the ground Shepard, Garrus and Nihlus moved through the dark alleys avoiding the fight all together. Even at the distance they were at from the battlefield, the stench of burning flesh reached them. Shepard was thankful that he had his helmet up. Nihlus and Garrus on the other hand were not so fortunate.

With the battle raging, they were able to slip through the alley with relative ease. Within minutes they reached their destination. Shepard brought up his omni-tool and said, "Teilo. It's Shepard. We made it to the garage. Initiate stage 2."

VVVVVV

"Yes, Commander." Teilo then addressed the field operatives on the line. "You heard him. Light 'em up."

Right after that command three warehouses blew up. The shockwave from the three explosions went through the area. The ground trembled in its wake. A piece of a warehouse building flew through the air and collided with a gunship. Another piece of warehouse flew onto the battlefield and crushed several soldiers.

Teilo pulled out her swords and yelled, "Attack!"

The snipers who were in position took aim at their first targets. The mercenaries on the battlefield were in a panic after the explosions. The vigilantes moved into the battle field. They took cover and fired on the confused mercenaries.

Teilo moved in and sliced off the arms off of a mercenary. Her hands twisted and her blades came together to decapitate the soldier. Her orange eyes glowed brightly as she tore through the mercenaries in her path.

"It's the demon!" one of the soldiers called out.

Two of the mercenaries changed their attention on the charging demon. They opened fire on her. Her shields protected her from the rounds. Teilo spun her swords and swung cutting the two mercenaries in half at the waist. The other mercenaries took just one look at Teilo and ran away in fear.

"Come and fight me cowards!"

VVVVVV

Shepard and his squad entered inside the warehouse. With the battle going on outside, there were few guards inside. Two of them spotted Shepard's group and reached for the ARs on their back. Garrus and Nihlus fired from their weapons taking down the two guards.

They rushed over to the security console. Shepard logged-in and searched through the records. He gave a whistle. "These people have a lot of hardware."

"Have you found anything of Nexira?" Nihlus asked.

"There are slave pens, but there is nothing specific. We'll have to see for ourselves."

"And Sidonis?" Garrus asked.

"Just a minute." Shepard tapped through the security cameras. He switched it to the interrogation chamber. "There! Interrogation room 4. Record says that Sidonis is inside."

The video feed was cut and was replaced by an audio communication. "You will not stop us," the person said. "We only grow stronger every day. Your attempts here will be futile."

"Where's my sister, you bastard?" Nihlus roared. "Where's Nexira?"

The individual laughed. "You're here for your sister? Heh. I'm afraid you will not find her. You'll die long before then."

"Not if I kill you first!"

"Then come on."

Nihlus punched the display panel, bending it. "Commander we have to find her!"

"This communication came from storage room 5," Nihlus pleaded. "The interrogation rooms are on our way there. We'll find her and this will be nothing but a bad memory. I promise."

"Thank you." Nihlus looked to Garrus. "Let's find your friend."

They ran down the corridor. Occasionally they ran into a security guard who put up little resistance. The corridor split into two directions. The squad took the left route to the interrogation rooms. They approached the room with a large number 4 on its door.

Shepard used his omni-tool to open the door. Light entered the room revealing Sidonis on a chair with his arms and legs strapped down. The light revealed Sidonis' current state. It made Garrus look away briefly.

Sidonis had one of his mandible missing. It was torn from its joint. A couple of his fingers were broken. His face was covered in cuts and blue blood. When the light hit him, Sidonis moved and breathed heavily. Gasps were weaved into his breathing. Sidonis looked up at them.

A small laugh escaped from him. "So it's finally happened. I'm dead and the spirits have come for me."

Garrus approached him. "You were always dramatic."

"Archangel?"

"Yeah. It's me."

"W-What happened?"

"The Apostates started a war and we're finishing it."

Sidonis struggled to keep his head facing forward. "I-I... I didn't tell them anything..."

Garrus approached the console next to him. "I know you didn't. We're getting you out of here."

"I'd offer to help take them down, but..." Sidonis slightly flexed his fingers while letting out a scream of pain. "They disabled my trigger finger."

Garrus deactivated the restraints. Sidonis struggled out of the chair with a groan. Once he got to his feet, he collapsed. Garrus and Shepard went to his side and helped move him to the wall. Shepard gave him some medi-gel to ease the pain and to seal up the cuts.

"This should keep you going until we take down Armaros."

"You give them hell, Garrus," Sidonis said. "That's the very least they deserve. For Omega!"

Garrus chuckled. "For Omega." Garrus looked to Shepard and Nihlus. "Let's end this."

The three continued down the corridor. They could hear the battle going on from outside.

VVVVVV

"Squad Alpha and Bravo, lay down some heavy fire on the group of mechs!" Teilo ordered.

Explosions lined the edges of the battlefield. A tall Batarian from the Blue Suns was cloaked as he sneaked behind Teilo. She was distracted giving orders. If he could kill her, it would ruin the group's morale and boasts his group's reputation. The Batarian raised his shotgun as he got closer and closer behind her.

'This is it,' he thought. After so many attempts, it would be him who killed the demon. The Batarian took aim. 'See you in hell, demon.' He pulled the trigger.

The shotgun simply beeped. "What the-"

Teilo spun around with her swords and stabbed both of them through his chest. He gasped from shock. His invisibility cloak disengaged. "I felt you come from a mile away." She lifted him off of the ground. For someone as small as her, this strength was extremely surprising.

The blades pressed up against his lungs. He was slowly dying. Blood came from his mouth and nose. "Wh-What are you?" he asked as everything started to fade around him.

"I am Operative Teilo V'Tola!" she answered. "Exion and proud Guardian!" Teilo pulled down on the blades and split the Batarian into two.

Several Blood Packs Vorcha hopped down from cover and had their ARs raised.

"Raaaaaa! Kill her!" one of them screeched.

Her shields held out as she charged towards the first Vorcha. She swung the blade cutting off its arm. This caused it to squeal. Teilo stabbed the blade through its chest and splitting its heart.

"D-Demon!" another called out.

Teilo moved to the next one and brought her blades down on its shoulders, splitting the top half of its torso into three. The last Vorcha was hesitant to keep fighting. Teilo walked towards him. The Vorcha reached for a knife by its leg and lunged forward. Teilo sliced across his chest. The Vorcha fell to the ground and rolled onto his back.

Teilo watched as the cut started to heal over. She swung her sword and decapitated the Vorcha. "Regenerate that."

Teilo heard a growl behind her. She turned and saw an old and scarred Krogan. "So you're the demon I've heard about. I'm not impressed." The new Blood Pack leader on Omega.

"Many have made the same mistake of underestimating me. Never ends well."

The Krogan pulled out a sword. "This is my family's sword. It's over 2000 years old. It hasn't been used since the Krogan rebellions. I think now is the time."

Teilo went into a combative stance. The Krogan roared and charged forward. Teilo sprinted forward with her arms stretched out.

"I'll tear you apart!"

Teilo impacted his waist and threw him over. The Krogan face-planted the ground. He growled as he quickly got to his feet. The Krogan swung his sword and Teilo blocked the blade with both her swords.

"Give up, human."

Teilo redirected his sword and slashed at his back. This caused him to scream. "You'll pay for that!"

"Then come and get me!"

Her tone made the Krogan fall into a blood rage. He swung the sword trying to tear the operative apart. Teilo blocked or dodged his attacks with ease. The Krogan bared his teeth during his barrage. He let out a roar. "Why are you still standing?"

Teilo deflected his sword and punched him in the face. "Because I'm faster!"

She spun her blades and cross-slashed his chest and followed up with a stomp causing him to fall onto his back.

"Because I'm stronger!"

The Krogan jumped to his feet and readied his sword. He swung it only to have it deflected again. Teilo moved in and stabbed one of her swords under the brow plate. It made the Krogan let out a whimper. The Krogan stared into her eyes with resentment.

"Because I have purpose." Teilo yanked on the sword and tore the brow plate right off making the Krogan holler in pain. "For the Order!" She moved in and spun her swords and stabbed downwards into his head.

His body went limp and fell to the ground. As the body fell, Teilo withdrew her swords and gave them a violent shake to dispel the blood that coated them. She activated her comm. "This is Teilo. The Blood Pack leader and Blue Suns leader are dead. It's time we wrap this up. Guardian operatives. Move in and clean up."

VVVVVV

Shepard and his squad approached storage room 5's door. Nihlus seemed hesitant to go through. Shepard simply nodded at him to let him know that it's going to be alright. Shepard pushed the holographic pad and the door opened up. It was a large room filled with many crates.

"Show yourself!" Nihlus yelled.

An electronic squeal answered back. A crate at the back of the room shook. Boom! A large mech burst out of it.

"Oh, spirits!" Nihlus gasped. "It's a FREYR!"

The giant mech was twice the size of an YMIR. Its body like that of its siblings, of the same manufacture, the YMIR and LOKI, its shell was pure white. It had clawed five fingered hands. On the top of its forearms are a rocket launcher and a Gatling gun. Its body is more slender than an YMIR. Its head was pointed with the trademark digital display that showed its optical sensor. The FREYR's head looked at the three. It quickly raised its arms and fired a rocket.

"Take cover!" Shepard called out.

The squad dived behind some crates to avoid the missile.

"What is that thing?" Shepard asked Nihlus.

"It's a FREYR," he answered. "Last time I heard of it, was when I saw the blueprints of it. It was meant to be the next generation of mech. A mech with a pilot. I have no idea why you Humans have such an obsession with mechs. We need to disable the mech and get the pilot out so we can find Nexira. I know how."

The FREYR landed on the crates above them and aimed its arms at them. They rolled out of the way before the Gatling guns opened fire on them. Shepard spotted an explosive tank in the corner of the room. He surrounded it with dark energy and threw it at the mech. The explosion dented its shell on its back.

"Bastard!" the pilot roared. It was the same person from before. "You'll never see your sister again, Spectre!" The mech turned towards

"Try and stop me!" Nihlus yelled and he ran up behind it. He jumped onto its back and held on. Nihlus aimed his AR at the dented panel and fired a full clip at it.

The mech reach behind and grabbed Nihlus. It threw him into a crate briefly stunning him. "The panel!" he yelled. "The panel is its weak point!"

Garrus leaped off a pile of crates and landed next to its head. He fired at the same dented panel. The mech jumped up and slammed down. The impact made Garrus lose his footing and fall to the ground. The mech looked down at him as it raised its foot.

Shepard run under its foot and released a shockwave of biotic energy. The mech fell backwards and landed on the ground.

"How does it feel to let your sister down?" the pilot mocked as the mech got back to its feet.

"You're dead!" Nihlus roared.

He took out two grenades and went to flank the mech. Shepard unleashed a barrage of warps at the mechanical monstrosity to get its attention. The shell that they used for its armor is very resistant to dark energy damage. Nihlus moved in and climbed up its back. He planted the two grenades on the dented panel. Nihlus jumped away before the mech could reach for him. He used his remote detonator. The grenades exploded exposing the circuitry below. Nihlus aimed with his assault rifle and fired a full clip. Sparks flew from the panel from the damage.

"Push it to the ground now, Commander!" Nihlus yelled. "This will only stun it for a few minutes. We need to get the pilot before then!"

Shepard unleashed another shockwave of dark energy to send the mech crashing down onto its back. Nihlus wasted no time and ran onto the mechs chest. The mechanism to open the pilot seat was there on the front. Nihlus opened the panel and activate it. A hiss escaped from the mech as a hole opened up. Shepard moved up next to him. Nihlus aimed into the hole as it opened. So much anger and hatred flowed through him as the hole opened.

"Alright, Armaros it's over," he growled. "Where's my-" Nihlus' eyes widen. "Nexira?"

The pilot inside was a female Turian who had scars on her face. Her eyes were glazed over. Despite the facial scars, Nihlus recognized her immediately. It was Nexira.

"Nexira!" Nihlus cried out. "W-What are you doing?"

The Turian let out a laugh. "Nexira isn't here anymore. Only Armaros." She glared at Nihlus. "You have any idea how long she waited for you. Since the day she was taken she prayed to the spirits for help. For you to come and rescue her. Day after day, she was used and used and used and yet she still held out hope that you would come for her. After waiting for years, the prayers stopped and her hope died. Her spirit weakened and in that moment of weakness, I was born. Help wasn't coming from anyone else but me. I came to her and gave her a way out. I gave her the motivation and strength to stop being a helpless slave and to rise up through the ranks. Within several years we went from slave to gang lord."

"Nexira, I know you're still in there!" Nihlus cried out in desperation. "Please come back!"

"I told you she's no longer-" The glaze look in her eyes disappeared. There was innocence there now. "B-Brother?"

Tears started to come from Nihlus' eyes. "Nexira?"

"Brother!" she cried out. "Y-You have to stop her! You have to stop Armaros. At- At first I just wanted a way to escape the pain, but she... She needs to be stop. The people she has killed, the damage she has done-"

"I'm not killing you!"

"Please, brother. Kill her... me, before she hurts anyone else."

"I-I can't."

Nexira's eyes glazed over. "Then I will kill you. Reroute power!"

"REROUTING."

The mech got up again making the two to fall off. "I'll squish you like bugs!" The mech raised a fist to punch downwards.

Shepard pulled out his sword and charged it with alpha and dark energy. He slashed upwards splitting the arm into two. The mech's left arm's Gatling gun started to spin up. Shepard charged forward and destroyed the other arm. He used dark energy to gather all of the explosive tanks around the mech. "Explode the tanks!" Shepard ordered.

Garrus and Nihlus took aim. Nihlus was hesitant, but complied nonetheless. They fired their ARs causing the explosive tanks to blow up in a large fiery explosion. The mech fell backwards. It was finally dead. The pilot compartment launched out of the mech and landed right in front of them.

The three approached it cautiously. Nexira was barely moving. She had blood come from her mouth. Nilhus laid his AR on the ground and released Nexira from the seat. She groaned as she struggled to look at him. "N-Nihlus..." Her eyes were back to normal.

"Hey," he said in a hush tone.

"Y-You came for me." Her voice was weakening.

"Of course I came for you. I would always come for you."

Nexira weakly laid her hand on his face. "I knew you would. I always knew you would."

"I-I'm so sorry that I didn't come sooner. I searched and searched-"

"Shh," she hushed while putting a finger over his mouth. "You did the best you could do. I know you did. You're a good person, Nihlus. Don't forget that. You're a good person." Nexira's hand lost its strength and fell to her as her eyes closed.

Tears still came from Nihlus' eyes. "Nexira? Nexira." He shook her. "Nexira!" Nihlus cried out an agonizing scream. It sent chills down Shepard's and Garrus' spine. Nihlus held her tightly as he rocked a little. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." His repeated apologies became incoherent from his massive grief.

Shepard crouched down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry for your lose."

"I-I failed her."

"You didn't fail her. You did everything you could to save her and then some. Don't blame yourself for this. You're a good person, Nihlus. Don't you forget it."

Nihlus slowly got to his feet with Nexira in his arms. "She deserves a proper funeral. Commander..."

"Yes?"

"Thank you. For this, my life, everything. You really are a true friend."

"Any time Nihlus."

VVVVVV

Teilo and her fellow soldiers combed over the battlefield. The area was littered with weapons and bodies. With the victory of this short battle, the Guardians have control over Omega. Her eyes were drawn to the warehouse of the Apostates. Four figures walked out of the door. She zoomed in with her eyes and saw it was Shepard and Garrus helping Sidonis walked along with Nihlus who carried a female Turian's body. Her scans indicated that there was no life sign coming from her.

'They were too late to save her,' Teilo thought to herself. 'At least they saved Sidonis.'

The four approached her.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Nihlus," she said to him.

"Thank you."

"Looks like the battle was a success," Sidonis said.

"Yes," Teilo replied. "With the destruction of the Big Three and the Apostates, we now have control over Omega."

"Is that so?" another voice said.

They all looked in the direction of the voice to see Aria with several of her body guards.

"It's nice to see you again, Aria," Shepard greeted. "What brings you here?"

"Do you really need to know? This was to be the site of the biggest battle in Omega's history. To decide who the ruling gang was to be. But the victor in this battle isn't a gang at all, but a band of vigilantes."

They couldn't tell if she was pissed off or just a little passionate of the battle that took place.

"And you want to know our intentions?"

"In short: yes."

Shepard pulled up his omni-tool and started playing a holographic recording. It was of Sovereign. "You recall this monstrosity, right?"

"The Geth dreadnaught."

"It's not Geth," Teilo corrected.

"Sovereign is a Reaper. They are a race of sentient machines that created the mass relays and the Citadel."

"Not the Protheans," Aria said to clarify. "That's hard to believe."

"Doesn't mean it's not true," Garrus said. "I have seen the Reapers first-hand, along with others."

"The Reapers were responsible for the Prothean extinction and the extinction of every race before now," Shepard continued. "Now the Reapers are returning to wipe us all out."

"I still don't get why your people are trying to take over Omega."

"We need stability before the Reapers arrive," Shepard replied. "A part of my goals is to either to assimilate or eliminate the mercenary groups of this galaxy. Omega was the business center for these organizations. And now it isn't."

"How is Omega supposed to support itself?" Aria demanded.

"The Guardians will be able to take care of that," Teilo said to her. "Please come with me and we can talk further." She looked to Shepard. He nodded in confirmation. "I'll see you later, Commander. Good luck in your mission."

Teilo and Aria with her bodyguards entered a room. "We need to speak more privately, Aleena."

"How do you know that name?" she demanded. Aria looked to her bodyguards. "Wait outside."

They walked out immediately.

"We know all about you, Aleena. You were an Asari commando who worked in the Asari Espionage and Infiltration Unit. You watched your whole unit die due to the incompetence of your organization. You left from being betrayed and started to not care about the world around you."

"Who are you?"

"Teilo V'Tola. Operative of the Galactic Guardians and the Order. I have been authorized to speak with you in depth about this, because to bring order, we'll need your help."

VVVVVV

Shepard sat on the couch with Tali's uncovered feet in his lap. He was massaging the bottom of her feet, relieving the tension that has built up throughout the day. "I feel so sorry for Nihlus," she said.

"As do I, but there's nothing much that can be done about it. He'll need some time." Shepard pressed a little more pressed into her foot to loosen a tight bundle of muscles. This caused her to groan a little. Shepard bent over and planted a kiss on her foot. This elicited a chuckle from her.

"You seem to have an odd obsession with my feet."

"And you have an odd obsession with my fingers."

"You just have so many of them. Your race is supposed to be eons more advance than any race in this galaxy and yet you have ten fingers. Why? What purpose do those two extra fingers on each hand serve?"

"Maybe to give beautiful Quarian women excellent foot massages?"

Tali laughed. "You're terrible."

"Commander, sorry to interrupt," EDI said as she appeared. "Nihlus has gotten into a fight with Samara in the Cargo Bay and it requires your intervention."

Shepard hopped off the couch. "I'll be right back."

Shepard rushed to the elevator and took it all the way to Deck 5. Nihlus and Samara were fighting using martial arts. Samara had a bruise on her right cheek. "Stand down both of you!" Shepard ordered.

"It's good that you have come down here, Commander," Samara said. "Nihlus came down here to fight me."

"It's because of you I failed my sister! If you didn't trying hunting me down for two weeks, I might have been able to find her. Save her."

"Nihlus, I understand you're angry upset. I know because I watched my own sister get killed. The only thing that comes to mind is just hatred, anger and the burning sensation of rage. You want to lash out at anyone just to make those feelings go away, but it won't. The best thing you can do for your sister is to live." Shepard turned to Samara. "And I understand you were trying to fulfill your duty, but justice is not something to act upon rashly. Innocents will get harmed in the crossfire making us worse than those who we are trying to bring to justice. We need to work together so we can save this galaxy from a force that threatens to engulf us all."

Nihlus bowed his head in shame. "I'm sorry, Justicar."

"As am I," Samara said. "Thank you for speaking with us, Commander."

The two nodded and went their separate ways. Shepard breathed a sigh of relief. He wondered to himself, 'With a diverse crew like this, how many situations will I have to diffuse?'


	28. Ghost Ship

Chapter 26: Ghost Ship

The Illusive Man waited on his feet for Shepard to appear before him. "Shepard, we caught a break. I intercepted a distress signal from a Turian patrol. They stumbled onto a Collector ship just beyond the Korlus system. The Turians were wiped out, but not before they crippled the Collector vessel." TIM sat down in his chair and took in a puff of his cigarette. "I need you to board that ship and get some hard data on the Collectors. Find us a way to their homeworld."

"Hard to imagine how a Turian patrol took out a Collector ship."

"Reports indicate that the hull's intact, but all systems seem to be offline. They could be making repairs as we speak. I'm not saying it won't be dangerous, but we can't let an opportunity like this slip by."

"Alright, send me the coordinates and I'll check it out."

"Already sent. Once you're aboard the ship, establish an uplink with EDI. She'll mine their data for information regarding the Omega 4 relay. Good luck, Shepard."

The link disconnected.

"Coordinates punched in," Joker announced over the PA. "Let's go find us a Collector ship."

"I want Mordin and Miranda on this mission."

"Relaying orders," EDI said.

VVVVVV

After several hours, they found the Collector vessel floating in space. Several heavily damagaed Turian cruisers drifted around the dead ship.

"We have a visual on the Collector ship, Commander," Joker said as the Normandy made its approach.

"Very low emissions," EDI said. "Passive infrared temperatures suggest most systems are offline. Thrusters are cold."

Joker got a better look of the Collector vessel. "That thing is massive! How the hell did the Turians take it out?"

The Normandy closed in on the Collector vessel.

"LADAR scans do not detect any hull breaches on the side facing us. I detect no mass effect field distortions. It appears the drive core is offline."

The Normandy's spotlight turned on and scanned the hull of the ship as it drifted closer to it. The cargo bay doors of the Normandy opened allowing the shuttle to fly out. It flew towards the Collector ship and located an opening for them to enter through. The shuttle landed on the floor. Its door opened up and Shepard and his squad hopped out.

The inside of the ship was unlike anything they have ever seen. The architecture was organic or semi-organic. Mordin made note. "Unusual ship design. Hard to track lines, angles. Disturbing."

Fluids dripped from the cell of what appeared to be beehive combs. Miranda was more blunt about the ship's appearance. "Looks like a giant insect hive."

The moved forward into the dead ship.

"Penetrating scans have detected an access node to uplink with Collector databanks," EDI said. "Shepard. I have compared the ship's EM to known Collector profiles. It is the one you encountered on Horizon."

"Maybe the defense towers softened it for the Turians," Shepard suggested.

"Could find colonists on board," Mordin said. "If they are still alive."

They walked by some empty containers. "These are the same type of containers they used on Horizon," Miranda said observing them. "Only these are empty."

"Horrible," Mordin solemnly said. "Trapped in pods. Completely at the mercy of the Collectors."

The three came across a pile of bodies. The sight made Shepard remember his time as a child. The experiments he was subjected to and the aftermath of the Cerberus betrayal. Dead bodies everywhere, trying to consume the living. And then after slaying them, he and his soldiers would pile the bodies and set them on fire to cleanse them.

"Why would the Collectors leave a pile of bodies lying around?" Miranda asked out loud.

"Test subjects from control group," Mordin answered. "Discarded after experiment was over."

"There are worse things than death," Shepard said. He looked to Miranda. "Like being a test subject to twisted aliens." That last line had more meaning than what he was willing to let on.

"I know you're right, but that doesn't make me feel any better," Miranda said.

They continued inwards. More bodies littered the area ahead. Some mechanical structures jutted out of the wall. It was a slightly welcoming sight compared to the semi-organic substances they saw before. On the far wall, there were several containers with a terminal in the middle of them all. Upon inspection, they found, not humans, but Collectors in these containers.

Shepard approached the terminal and scanned it for data. The lights on one of the containers lit up.

"That's a Collector," Miranda observed. "Were they experimenting on one of their own?"

"EDI, I'm uploading some data from this terminal," Shepard said over the comm. "See what you can figure out what they were up to."

"Data received," she replied. "Analyzing."

Shepard walked over to the lit container and looked at the dead Collector.

"The Collectors were running baseline genetic comparisons between their species and humanity."

"We're they looking for similarities?" Shepard inquired.

"I have no hypothesis on their motivations," she replied. "All I have are the preliminary results. They reveal something remarkable. A quad-strand genetic structure, identical to traces collected from ancient ruins. Only one race is known to have this structure: the Protheans."

Shepard immediately took a step back. Miranda and Mordin were equally shocked at these revelations. "My god! The Protheans didn't vanish. They're just working for the Reapers now."

"These are no longer Protheans, Shepard. Their genes show distinct signs of extensive genetic rewrite. The Reapers have repurposed them to suit their needs."

"The Reapers didn't wipe out the Protheans. They turned them into monsters and enslaved them. Still... They're working for the Reapers now. And we need to stop them."

"They're not going to do to us what they did to the Protheans," Miranda declared.

"Then let's find what we need and get out of here before the Collectors come to salvage this vessel. Move out."

They continued down this walkway of hell. The three saw containers cover the ceiling. "Look," Mordin pointed out. "Up on the ceiling. More holding containers."

"There must be hundreds of them," Miranda said. "How many do you think are full?"

"Too many," Shepard answered.

"I detect no signs of life, Shepard," EDI said. "It is probable that the victims inside died when the ship lost power."

They moved forward down the corridor, eventually going up. This was when Joker chirped in. "Commander. You gotta hear this. On a hunch, I asked EDI to run an analysis on this ship."

"I compared the EM profile against data recorded by the original Normandy two years ago. They are an exact match."

"The same ship dogging me for two years?" Shepard asked. "Way beyond coincidence."

"Something doesn't add up, Commander," Joker said. "Watch your back."

The corridor finally opened up to a gigantic chamber with containers that covered the walls. The chamber went on farther than the eye could see. The three were in awe.

"Fascinating," Mordin gasped.

"They could take every Human in the Terminus system and not have enough to fill these pods," Miranda said.

"Only one conclusion," Mordin announced. "Collectors targeting Earth."

"Not if we stopped them."

"Look there!" Mordin said. "The control terminal."

"Where are the bodies of the Collectors?" Miranda thought out loud. "Careful, Shepard. Something doesn't feel right about this."

Shepard approached the terminal and activated his omni-tool. "EDI. I'm setting up a bridge between you and the Collector ship. See if you can get anything useful from the data banks."

A holographic panel appeared about the terminal. "Data mine in progress, Shepard," EDI announced.

The panel screen suddenly had static appear and showing an alert symbol. A shock and loud boom came from the terminal. Something activated. The pipes around them started to move.

"We're okay, Joker," Shepard said. "What happened?"

"Major power surge," Joker replied. "Everything went dark, but we're back up now."

"I managed to divert the majority of the overload to non-critical systems," EDI explained.

Shepard and his squad heard movement above them. They weren't alone.

"Shepard, it was not a malfunction. This was a trap."

The platform shifted and rose up. The platform spun as it did. "We need a little help here, EDI," Shepard said while his squad and he tried to keep their footing.

"I am having trouble maintaining connection," EDI replied. "There is someone else in the system."

The platform suddenly stopped rising and spinning. This caused Miranda to fall down and Shepard and Mordin to stumble. At the height they were at, they could get a good view of the area. Mordin went over to Miranda and gave her a hand getting to her feet.

The sound of an unknown mechanical device filled the area. A platform appeared from behind a stalagmite and flew towards them.

"Connection reestablished," EDI said. "I need to finish the download before I can override any systems."

"Then you better get it done fast, EDI."

"Commander," Xiltro chirped in after a long period of silence. He communicated to Shepard on a separate frequency. "Let me into the system. I can help EDI get through this process more quickly."

"Good to hear your voice again. You've been quiet a while."

"Well, you didn't really need my help too much, so I spend my time analyzing the data you gathered during your missions." The two platforms approaching their locations clamped down on their platform. "Fuck! Quick, connect me!" Shepard held his omni-tool over the terminal and a spark of green energy came from it. "Okay, I'm in. Hey, EDI. I'm here to help."

"Then you take care of security while I'll finish this download," she said.

"I'm on it."

Shepard and his squad took cover from the barrage of fire from the Collectors on the platform on the right.

"I AM ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL." One of the Collectors glowed bright yellow as the possession took place.

Mordin launched an incinerate blast at the Scion in the distance causing it to stumbled and fall off of the still moving platform. Shepard used a shockwave to rid of the regular drones on the next to them. The three refocused their attention on Harbinger.

"YOUR TIME FOR ASCENSION HAS ARRIVED, ARTICIAN."

Its barriers weakened from the onslaught of smg fire. Harbinger launched a warp ball at their position only to be dodged. Harbinger hopped over their cover and was right next to them. Shepard quickly pulled out Asha and stabbed it in the stomach.

"YOU ARE ONLY DELAYING THE INEVITABLE, TIVEN'VIAN."

The host disintegrated around Shepard's sword. Two more platforms flew in. They suddenly stopped in the air.

"I managed to gain some control over the ship's systems," Xiltro said. "Watch this."

The two platforms slammed into each other causing its occupants to fall.

"What the hell happened?" Miranda said as she watched the vent unfold.

"Like malfunction," Mordin suggested.

"I have completed the download, Commander," EDI said. "Please reconnect me to the terminal."

"You can pick me up as well," Xiltro said on the personal channel.

Shepard walked to the terminal and activated his omni-tool allowing EDI to connect to the terminal and for Xiltro to hop back into his omni-tool.

EDI's hologram appears over the terminal. "I have regained control of the platform, Shepard."

"I knew you wouldn't let us down," Shepard praised.

"I always work at optimal capacity."

"With help," Xiltro remarked in an aside.

The platform started to move. "Did you get what we needed?" Shepard asked over the comm.

"I have found data that could help us successfully navigate the Omega 4 relay. I have also found the Turian distress call that served as the lure for this trap. The Collectors were the source. It is unusual."

The platform landed next to a tunnel entranced and connected to the edge. "It makes sense that the Collectors would send the distress signal as bait."

"No, it's unusual, because Turian emergency channels use secondary encryption. It is present, but corrupted in the message. It is not possible that the Illusive Man would believe that the distress signal was genuine."

"Why are you so sure?"

"I found the anomaly with Cerberus detection protocols. He wrote them."

"He knew it was a trap?" Joker chirped in on the comm. "Why would he send us into a trap?"

Anger went through Shepard when he heard this news. He slammed his fist into his hand and roared, "That son of a bitch sent us right into Collector hands!"

"Foolish to trust Cerberus," Mordin muttered. "Mistake on my part."

"N-No," Miranda said. "T-There has to be another explanation. The Illusive Man wouldn't do this. He... he just wouldn't!"

Shepard walked up to Miranda and said, "You want an explanation? Here it is. You're not an operative. You're not a valuable employee. You are nothing more than an asset. One that will be thrown away when he sees fit. This is nothing more than typical Cerberus behaviour." Shepard glanced at the tunnel. "We don't have time for this."

"Commander, the Collector Ship is starting to power up," Joker said over the line. "You need to get out of there before their weapons come online. I'm not losing another Normandy!"

"I do not have full control of their systems," EDI said. "I will do what I can. Sending coordinates for shuttle extraction."

Shepard and his squad rushed down the tunnel to get out. They reach a fork in the road. "I am opening the doors on the right," EDI said. Right after the doors opened.

The three ran down a slope and entered a small area, where several Collectors came into view. Miranda used slam on one of the Collectors flying in. Its back broke over cover. Mordin used a cryo blast on the Collectors on the left freezing them solid. Shepard fired several headshot rounds from his pistol as they advanced.

They went down another slope to a new area with cover everywhere and a walkway to the left and an overlook on the right. A dozen Collectors flew in as they entered the area. One of them glowed brightly.

"YOUR KIND HAS FOUGHT US BEFORE, BUT WE HAVE GROWN STRONGER, TIVEN'VIAN."

"Take on the drones," Shepard ordered. "Make sure he can't take another host!"

Harbinger launched a warp in their direction. Shepard sliced in half with Asha causing it to dissipate harmlessly. "GIVE UP, ARTICIAN, AND YOU MAY EXPERIENCE ASCENSION."

The number of drones fell around them giving Shepard the chance to move in. One drone flew in only to get punched in the face by Shepard. Shepard pulled out his pistol and fired a couple of rounds in its face. Harbinger launched a warp at close range which caught Shepard in the chest making him fall onto his back. His shields took a heavy hit from that blast. He made a mental note to have this suit upgrade as soon as possible.

Harbinger walked up to him and looked down. "I CONTROL THE POWERS OF THE UNIVERSE, ARTICIAN. YOU MAY NOT BE OF THIS UNIVERSE, BUT YOU WILL FAIL THE SAME." He charged another special ball of biotic energy.

Shepard stabbed Asha right through its stomach and then pulled it upwards splitting its torso in two. Shepard got to his feet. His team jumped down a ledge at the far side of the room into a large open area with littler cover. A Praetorian flew in along with a few Collector drones and Husks.

Shepard sent in a shockwave to destroy the Husks. Mordin used a nerve agent on one of the Collectors freezing it in place. This allowed Miranda to use slam on the other Collector and direct its plummet towards the frozen Collector.

The Praetorian was still incoming. It charged up its particle beams and fired. The squad took cover and waited until its beams died down. They opened fired immediately on the monstrosity. The creature was starting to move up the ramp causing the three to move in the other direction for cover. The Praetorian moved again trapping them on the lower level.

"Thing's damn shields are thick," Miranda groaned as she inserted a new heat sink.

The Praetorian crashed down to the ground and screamed as its barriers went back up. The shockwave pushed Miranda away from her cover. The Praetorian's eyes glowed as it focused on Miranda.

"Miranda, look out!" Shepard yelled. He dashed and pushed her out of the way. The particle beam impacted him and quickly drained away his shields. The particle beam impacted his armour. The power beam managed to break away a part of his armour and hit his skin. Shepard screamed in pain from the attack.

"Commander!" Miranda cried out.

Green energy surged around his body. He recalled the lessons given to him by the Oracle.

VVVVVV

One year ago...

In the abyss...

"Next you shall learn about how to use some of your potential," the Oracle said. "The power that emerges when an Artician's Eli'Demi is harmed or killed. Calling upon this power is risky. If you use it for too long, it can take control over you. You can only use it sparingly."

"How do I call upon it, Oracle?"

"Remember your Eli'Demi. Think about what will happen to her if you fail your mission. If you fail her."

Shepard closed his eyes and let the images flash through his mind. The memories of seeing Tali get her stomach slashed. His teeth grit together. Soon other images flashed through his mind. Images of Tali being taken away by shadowy figures. A growl came from his throat. Of her getting impaled on a Dragon Tooth. Now the image of her Husk formed moving towards him.

Shepard roared as green energy surged around him. The energy slowly started to take form around his body as the demonic form he once took before.

"Do not let it consume you!" the Oracle yelled. "Remember what will happen if she dies, but remember why you are fighting! Remember what matters to you!"

"John!" Tali's voice went through his head. This snapped him out of the trance.

"I-I remember."

VVVVVV

Shepard got to his feet and formed the alpha energy around Asha. The Praetorian was right in front of them. Shepard roared as he swung his sword sending a pillar of Alpha energy right through the Praetorian. The creature split in half from the attack and then disintegrated. Shepard fell to one knee from the exhaustion.

"Commander, what the hell was that?" Miranda yelled.

Shepard struggled to his feet. "I-It doesn't matter. We need to get out of here."

They rush to the doorway on the right which opened in due part to EDI.

"You need to double time it, Commander," Joker reminded. "The Collector ship is almost online! I'd rather leave and not have the Normandy blown in half."

They three rounded the corner and saw a large horde of Husks running towards them. Shepard launched a shockwave to clear the way. They could hear more Husks coming to their location. They ran into the shuttle. Shepard stayed outside to kill any Husks that came at them.

"Shepard, I have no choice, we have to go!" Joker said.

"You heard him!" Shepard roared. "Go, go, go!"

They went inside the shuttle. The pilot flew the shuttle as fast as he could into the cargo bay of the Normandy.

On the bridge Joker activated the Normandy's thrusters and went forwards. The Collector Ship charged its particle beam and fired. Shepard ran towards the bridge and stood right behind Joker's seat.

"Get us out of here, EDI!" Joker demanded.

"Please specify a destination," EDI asked.

"Anywhere, but here!"

"Activating mass effect drives."

The Normandy jumped to a new location, leaving the Collector Ship. The new destination was quiet. Joker let out a sigh of relief. "That was too close."

"Good job, Joker, EDI," Shepard said.

"All part of the job," Joker said with a slight arrogant tone. He looked back and saw the damage on Shepard's armour. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Joker then noticed the blood that dripped from the armour hole. "Commander?" Shepard fell to the ground face first. "Commander! EDI, call Chakwas and Mordin! Shepard is down!"

"Sending message."

VVVVVV

Shepard was rushed into the med-bay and placed on the operating table. Chakwas and Mordin wasted no time in removing his armour. The damage became obvious. A section of his chest, roughly half a foot in diameter, was badly burnt with parts of his flesh torn away. Blood came from the wound.

"Hmm, badly burnt," Mordin observed. "Second and third degree burns."

"I'll get a pack of blood," Chakwas said. "Shepard always keeps a supply of his blood in case of injuries."

"Yes."

Chakwas pulled out the pack of blood from the med-bay storage fridge and hooked it against the wall. She cleaned an area of his arm and inserted the needle.

"Good. We must remove the burnt tissue. Skin grafts likely." Mordin sighed. "May be out of combat for a while."

The two spent the next thirty minutes cleaning Shepard's wound and removing the burnt tissue. His muscle was partially visible after the burnt tissue was removed. Mordin was just starting to scan the wound when green energy formed around the wound.

This cause Mordin's eyes to widen. "Fascinating." He scanned the energy that formed around Shepard's wound. It looked like a green mist with a faint light within it. Mordin scanned the energy. "I have never seen anything like this. Hmm. Energy unknown." Mordin then witnessed Shepard's skin tissue starting to heal over. "Incredible. Must make notes. Must..." He felt a hand on his shoulder.

Chakwas shook her head and said, "It would be in the Commander's best interest that you don't record any of this."

"Don't understand."

"I'm afraid I can't fully explain. But believe me..."

Mordin nodded. "Very well. Expect to know why eventually." He looked at Shepard's vitals and saw that he was stable. "Vitals are stabilized. We should cover his wounds with some bandages."

VVVVVV

Tali was reviewing the engine's output since they escaped the Collector Vessel. "How do your readings look, Gabby?"

"Everything is in the green," Gabby replied. "We didn't take any hits in our escape so I think we can breathe a sigh of relief."

"Uh, Tali?" Joker said over the ship's PA.

"Yes, Joker?"

"You should probably take your break now."

"Why?"

"Shepard... Shepard got hurt on the Collector Ship."

"What?" she yelled. "What happened?"

"Shepard took a particle beam to the chest. He's currently in the med-bay while Chakwas and Mordin try to heal him."

Tali looked to Gabby and Ken and was just about to ask if they had everything.

"Go!" Ken said. "You don't need our permission to be by his side!"

Tali ran as fast as she could to the elevator. The ride up to the third deck was painfully long. As the doors opened she ran around the corner and saw that the windows of the med-bay were tinted. Miranda stood outside of the med-bay.

"What happened?" Tali demanded.

"We ran into a Praetorian during our escape," Miranda answered. "It was about to attack me with its particle beam attack, but Shepard pushed me out of the way and got hit by it instead."

"You got him hurt."

"I didn't mean to, Tali."

"You Cerberus types destroy everything you touch. How much will you destroy before you people are satisfied?"

There was a look of shock on Miranda's face from Tali's outburst. "Tali..."

Tali collected herself and said, "I-I'm sorry."

Miranda placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. I know that you feel strongly for him. Shepard will pull through this. You just watch."

The med-bay doors opened up and Chakwas and Mordin walked out. Miranda and Tali approached them.

"The Commander is a very strong man," Chakwas said. "He's stabilized and will recover shortly. You can go see him now."

Tali hurried into the med-bay to see Shepard lying on the bed. Half of his body was covered by a blanket. The left side of his chest was bandaged up. He was asleep. Tali pulled up a chair and sat down next to him. She grabbed his hand and lovingly caressed it. "John..." she whispered.

Miranda checked his vitals. "His injuries are minor. He lost some blood, but other than that, he'll be fine."

Tali caressed Shepard's face.

"I'm curious," Miranda said. "Please forgive me for prying, but how did you two get together?"

Tali looked at Miranda. "We were friends for years. Eventually our feelings grew beyond that."

"I'm somewhat envious."

This caught her off-guard.

"You found a good person to love in this galaxy. Finding someone like Shepard is rare indeed. Especially the patience. But there is something that concerns me. Back on the Collector ship when we were pinned down by the Praetorian, something happened to Shepard. This green energy surrounded his body and his biotic powers skyrocketed briefly. In your travels, have you ever seen him do such a thing?"

"In desperate times, he has... tapped further into his own abilities," she partially lied.

"Interesting. I'll leave you alone with him. I have to file some reports." Miranda looked at Shepard again. "He'll be up in no time. I know it."

VVVVVV

The door of the med-bay opened up revealing Thane. "Oh, hello, Thane," Tali greeted.

"Hello, Tali. I wanted to come see how Shepard is faring."

"He's okay. We're just waiting for him to wake up."

"After all he's been through, he deserves some rest."

"We can both agree to that. He pushes himself so hard to help others. It is just unfair that this forsaken galaxy doesn't acknowledge that."

"He is called the Saviour of the Citadel."

"And looked what they did to him now. They left him for dead and buried his warnings. You can search the extranet for mentions of Reapers and all you'll find are conspiracy sites either in support of it or against. And the ones that are against the idea of the Reapers always have a picture of Shepard with a caption that says something along the lines of 'Heroic but crazy'."

"Hopefully once this mission is over we will have all the proof we need."

"One way or another, we will," Tali said.

VVVVVV

After the passing of several hours, Tali saw Shepard shift on the bed. He groaned as his eyes opened. Shepard looked to Tali sitting next to him. "Hey, Tali."

Tali hugged him.

"I'm sorry for worrying you."

"It's part of the job of being a galactic saviour," Tali joked. "You're okay now. That's what matters."

Shepard noticed the bandages on his chest. He peaked under them to see no wounds. Shepard removed them. Tali was surprised to see no scarring of his skin.

"Now if I recall, I owe the Illusive Man a piece of my damn mind for risking our entire crew."

"You give him hell, John."

VVVVVV

Shepard's hologram appeared before TIM. "Commander Shepard. It appears that EDI has pulled some useful information from the Collector Ship."

"EDI told us the distress call was a trap!" Shepard yelled at him. "You betrayed us. Just like I knew you would."

"We're at war! The Collectors are taking humans, and every minute we waste is one more we give the enemy to prepare."

"I know the stakes, but we're supposed to be on the same side, and I can't trust you."

"Without that information, we don't reach the Collector homeworld. And you and every other Human may as well be dead. It was a trap... but I was confident in your abilities. And don't forget EDI. The Collectors couldn't have anticipated her."

"You could have told me the plan. You say I'm important and that we're on the same side, but you sure do try hard to get me killed."

"I needed the Collectors to believe they had the upper hand. Telling you could have tipped them off in any number of ways. Besides. I wouldn't have sent you in if I didn't think you could succeed."

"No wink, wink, nudge, nudge? I don't risk people unnecessarily. There's always a way."

"You may not like to be on the receiving end, neither would I. But the facts are with me. As much as we try to avoid them, these decisions need to be made. But more importantly... it paid off. EDI confirmed our suspicions. The Reapers and Collectors use an advance Identify Friend/Foe system that the relays recognize. All we need to do is get our hands on one of those IFFs."

"And you have a plan?"

"Yes. It is still in progress. I will contact you when it comes to fruition. For the meantime, I suggest you tell your crew that I didn't risk their lives unnecessarily. It will make things easier going forward."

"EDI-tell the crew to assemble. We got a lot to talk about."

"Of course, Shepard," EDI chimed in.

VVVVVV

Jacob pushed himself off of the conference table. "So the Illusive Man didn't sell us out. Could have fooled me."

In the comm room was Shepard, Jacob, Mordin and Miranda.

"Lied to us," Mordin stated while pacing back and forth. "Used us. Needed access to Collector databanks. Necessary risks."

"Let's just hope this IFF works," Shepard sighed.

"My analysis is accurate, Shepard," EDI said. "I have also determined the approximate location of the Collector homeworld based on navigational data from their vessel."

A hologram of the Milky Way galaxy appeared before the five in the comm room. The reticle drifted across the hologram until it targeted the center of the galaxy. This surprised them all.

"That can't be right," Miranda said in disbelief.

"EDI doesn't make mistakes," Shepard countered. "The Collector homeworld is in the galactic core."

"Can't be," Jacob argued. "The core is nothing but black holes and exploding suns. There are no habitable planets there."

"Could be an artificial construction," Mordin suggested. "Space station protected by mass effect fields and radiation shields."

"Even the Collectors don't have that technology," Miranda said.

"The Collectors are just servants of our real enemy," Shepard said. "And we all know what their masters are capable of. The Reapers built the mass relays and the Citadel. Who's to say they can't make a space station that's surrounded by black holes. No wonder no one's ever returned from the Omega-4 relay."

"The logical conclusion is that there is a small safety zone that exists on the far side of the relay. A region where ships can survive. Standard relay safety protocols would not allow safe transport. Drift of several thousand kilometers is common and would be fatal in the galactic core. The Reaper IFF must trigger the relay to use more advance, encrypted protocols."

"And for the time being, we are waiting for the Illusive Man to come up with something. Until then, it is business as usual. Crew dismissed."

Miranda and Jacob left the room. Mordin approached Shepard. "Shepard. Since we have some time on our hands, I was hoping to get your help."

"Something wrong?"

"Yes," he replied. "An old assistant of mine has gone missing on the Krogan homeworld. I fear the worse."


	29. Cursed Plague

Chapter 27: Cursed Plague

Winds were very strong as the pilot struggled to stabilize the shuttle. The environment of Tuchanka was unforgiving. The landscape was barren of most life and every day was spent just surviving. As soon the shuttle touched down, Shepard along with Mordin and Grunt emerged from the craft. The heat was readily apparent. It was a very dry heat.

Grunt was along with Mordin and Shepard, because he was having issues controlling his anger. Shepard brought him along so they could talk to the clan leader and find out what's wrong. Every Krogan in the area had their eyes on the three.

The armour Shepard wore was repaired. The hole and scorch marks were gone. The armour's self-repair system was activated shortly after Shepard's injury. The nanites that were interwoven into the armour recycled the damaged suit material and covered the hole. It now looked like it wasn't damaged.

The three walked down off of the platform to be "greeted" by several Krogan guards. Two of them raised their shotguns. The leader eyed Shepard. "I know you. Yes. Shepard. Take your blood-raged Krogan to participate in the Rite."

"You know what's wrong?"

"The Clan leader will explain further." The Krogan looked to his fellow guards. "Lower your weapons. This Human deserves respect. The only alien to kill a Thresher Maw on foot."

The two Krogan lowered their weapons and backed away. Shepard and his group went down the corridor of the aged spaceport and found themselves in an area with cracked walls and holes in the ceiling where the sun light came in through. The place smelt of death and body ordour.

Shepard noticed a throne just slightly ahead. There were some guards standing there. Shepard approached the two. One of the guards raised a hand. "Halt. You must wait until the Clan leader calls for you. He is... in talks."

Wrex rested his head in his hand while he listened to Uvenk rant. "You know what tradition demands. Clan Urdnot must respond. Your reforms will not go unopposed. You risk appearing weak at a critical time."

Wrex felt his irritation growing to new heights. He shifted in his throne and glanced to his left to see someone he didn't expect to be alive. Wrex launched onto his feet. "Shepard?" he called out.

Shepard looked to the guard and asked, "Good enough?" He pressed through the two guards. "Excuse me."

Wrex chuckled as the two approached. They shook hands. "Shepard! My friend. You look well for dead, Shepard. Should have known the void couldn't hold you."

"Looks like helping me stop Saren and the Geth worked out for you. Glad we didn't have to kill each other on Virmire."

Wrex let out a small chuckle. "You made the rise of Urdnot possible. Virmire was a turning point for the Krogan, though not everyone was happy about it." He walked towards his throne. "Destroying Saren's genophage cure freed us from his manipulation. I used that to spur the clans to unify under Urdnot."

"You abandoned many traditions to get your way," Uvenk dismissed. "Dangerous."

Wrex turned to Uvenk and head-butted him. Uvenk fell to the ground. "Speak when spoken to, Uvenk. I'll drag your clan to glory whether it likes it or not." Wrex sat down on his throne. "Now Shepard. What brings you here? How's the Normandy?"

"Destroyed in a Collector surprise attack," Shepard answered. "I ended up being spaced."

"Well, you look good. Ah, the benefits of a redundant nervous system."

"Yeah, I don't have that."

"Oh. It must have been painful, then. But you're standing here, and you've got a strong new ship. Takes me back to the old days. Us against the unknown, killing it with big guns. Good times. Speaking of goods times. How's your mate doing? Tali."

"We're still together. She's on my ship as Chief Engineer."

"Of course. Well, Shepard what brings you here?"

"Some business. An associate of Mordin's was taken by Blood Pack mercenaries and the trail leads here."

"Ah, you'll want to look for Clan Weyrloc. They were the ones who started that mercenary group. Speak with my Chief Scout. He's in charge of keeping an eye on them. He'll provide you what you need to find the Salarian. Anything else you need?"

"Yes. About Grunt, the Krogan member of my crew. He's been having trouble keeping control."

Grunt approach Wrex. Wrex scratched his chin. "Tell me, whelp. Was your clan destroyed before you learned what was expected of you?"

"I have no clan," Grunt replied. "I was tank-bred by Warlord Okeer. I was distilled from Kreclak, Moro, Shiagur-"

Uvenk paced around Grunt examining the Krogan before him. "You recite warlords, but you are the offspring of a syringe!" Uvenk scoffed.

"I am pure Krogan. You should be in awe."

"Okeer is a very old name. A very hated name."

"He is dead."

"Of course he is. You're here with Shepard. How could he be alive?"

"What's wrong with Grunt?" Shepard asked again to bring the topic back to point.

"There's nothing wrong with him," Wrex said. "He is becoming a full adult."

"Ah, puberty ritual," Mordin said. "Common among races with hormone-driven reproductive urges."

"I don't care what aliens call it. Krogan have to go through the Rite of Passage."

"Too far, Wrex!" Uvenk yelled. "Your clan may rule, but that thing is not Krogan!" He charged off.

"Idiot," Wrex mumbled. "So Grunt... Do you wish to stand with Urdnot?"

"This is his choice," Shepard said.

Grunt turned around and scanned the area that was filled with members of Urdnot. This would be his clan. He turned around and said, "It is in my blood. It is what I am for."

"Good boy," Wrex praised. "Speak with the Shaman. He's over on the second level." Wrex pointed in the direction. "Give him a good show and he'll set you on the path."

As the three walked towards the Shaman Wrex made one last comment with a grin. "You too, Shepard. How many times have you stepped in a mess for your crew, hmm?"

They went up the stairs and saw Uvenk and several of his clan mates arguing with who Shepard assumed was the Shaman. "You've gone beyond yourself, Gatatog Uvenk," the Shaman growled. "The rites of Urdnot are dominant."

"How do we know it will even challenge him?" Uvenk argued. "He's unnatural. The beasts of the Rite could ignore him like a lump of plastic!"

"They know blood, no matter the womb. Your barking does not helping your case."

"I'll speak for myself," Grunt said.

The Shaman approached him. "This is the tank-born? It is very lifelike." He took a sniff. "Smells correct as well. Your protests ring hollow, Uvenk."

"I don't give a damn what this idiot says," Shepard said in an aggressive tone while pointing at Uvenk. "Grunt has the right to be here."

"Hmm, there's some fire," the Shaman said, clearly impressed. "And from an alien." He laughed. "Oh, the shame heaps on those who whine like pups."

"If this must stand on ritual, then I invoke to denial," Uvenk argued. "My krantt stands against him! He has no one!"

"My patience is tested," the Shaman mumbled. "But Uvenk invokes correctly. Grunt who is your krantt? Your allies willing to kill and die on your behalf?"

Grunt briefly glanced at Shepard.

"Grunt will strengthen Clan Urdnot," Shepard reminded. "Name our target and it will die."

This brought a smile to the old Shaman's face. "Spoken well! Most aliens," the Shaman looked at Uvenk, "and some Krogan don't usually understand our ways. I believe this Human does."

"Aliens don't know strength!" Uvenk roared. "My followers are true Krogan! Everything about Grunt is a lie-"

Uvenk was interrupted by a head butt by Shepard. The impact pushed him off of his feet making him land on his back. "Y-You dare!"

"Yes, I dare!" Shepard growled. "Grunt is going through this Rite. Nothing. And I mean nothing will stand in our way."

The Shaman let out a loud laugh. "I like this Human! He understands."

Uvenk got to his feet. "I withdraw my denial. This will be decided elsewhere." He walked by Shepard and shoved his shoulder.

"You have provoked him," the Shaman stated. "Reason enough for me to like you. They're your problem now."

"Can he interfere?" Shepard pointed towards the leaving Krogan.

"He is forbidden to interfere. Will he? During the Rite of Passage, you must be ready for anything, Shepard. From what you've shown me... You will not disappoint."

"When does this start?"

"We need some time to set up the Rite. If you have any business to attend to before this evening, then get to it first. Once you return we can start the Rite."

VVVVVV

The Krogan truck came to a full stop just on the perimeter of Clan Weyrloc's base. "Thanks for the ride," Shepard said to the driver.

"I'll wait here for a while," the driver grumbled. "After a certain amount of time, I will leave and you'll have to walk back. I don't expect much though. Your Salarian is right inside the base. A team of three, even with a Krogan, is not likely to walk in and out alive."

"You'll be surprised," Grunt muttered.

"We shall see, tank-born."

The three soldiers hopped out of the truck's hatch. They went through the gate entrance into Weyrloc territory. They were immediately accosted by two Klixen. Grunt fired a concussion shot on the one of the right, stunning it briefly.

Shepard fired a round into the head of the left one immediately killing it. The Klixen burst into flames which engulfed its companion. The three rounded the corner to be ambushed by another Klixen and two Varren. Mordin froze the two Varren with a cryo blast. Grunt fired two rounds from his shotgun and shattered the two.

The Klixen opened its mouth and spewed flames in their direction. Shepard threw a warp through the flames causing them to disperse. The warp ball entered the Klixen's mouth and tore its throat to shreds. The creature went into a seizure from the massive damage. Grunt approached the dying creature and fired a round in its head to end its suffering.

Around a sheet of scrap hull, two Vorcha fired rockets on the squad. Mordin rolled into cover dodging one of the missiles. Grunt took cover behind the scrap hull. Shepard used his biotics to redirect the missile targeting him towards the sky.

"Raaa, biotic!" one of the Vorcha growled. "Kill them!"

Shepard fired a round from his pistol scoring a head shot. Mordin jumped over his cover and set the other Vorcha on fire. Grunt looked disappointed from not getting the chance to kill any of these Vorcha.

They went up the ramp to higher ground to face a large force of Vorcha, several Varren and Krogan. The three advanced aggressive through the area. Shepard switched between using his sword, biotics and pistol to take on any enemy that dared approached him. Mordin froze Vorcha left and right and using his SMG to shatter their frozen bodies. Grunt charged directly into battle while screaming his battle cry, "I. AM. KROGAN!" He would tackle Vorcha to the ground and fire his shotgun at point blank while they lay on the ground.

The three came to the down ramp and several flamethrower-equipped Vorcha approached them. Shepard pulled up his omni-tool. "I don't even know why anyone even uses flamethrowers," he said while pointing his omni-tool at the three. Shepard used an area overload on the three which caused their fuel tanks to blow up. "Especially when their fuel tanks are so vulnerable."

"Mostly Vorcha use them," Mordin answered. "Vorcha are expendable."

Around the corner were another four Vorcha guarding the doorway. "Grunt, destroy the tank on the left. Mordin, incinerate the lone Vorcha on the right. Go!"

Grunt took aim and fired several rounds from his AR. The crate that contained explosive fuel blew up killing the three Vorcha that took cover near it. Mordin fired a fireball at the lone Vorcha when it stood up from cover. "Area clear, Commander."

They proceeded through the door. "Repurposed Krogan hospital," Mordin observed. "Sturdy, built to withstand punishment."

"Just like the people it was meant to shelter and treat," Grunt quipped.

At the bottom of the ramp was a horribly mutilated Human corpse. "That body," Mordin pointed. "Human. Need to take a look." Mordin pulled up his omni-tool. A scanner activated and showed a hologram of the person's body. "Sores, tumors, ligatures shows restraints at wrists and ankles. Track marks for repeated injection sites. Test subject. Victim of experimentation."

"Why would they use Human test subjects?" Shepard asked.

"Humans useful as test subjects," Mordin answered. "Genetically diverse. Enable exploration of treatment modalities."

"Well, now we have two reasons to stop these two experiments."

"Yes. Must help Maleon. Too late to help the dead."

The three met with little resistance through the corridor. It did not take long before they found and door and entered through. It was a slightly spacious area with a catwalk. The door at the catwalk's level opened up revealing several Krogan and Vorcha. The white-armoured Krogan announced himself as his group entered the room.

"I am the clanspeaker for Clan Weyrloc, offworlders. You have shed our blood. By rights, you should be dead already. But Weyrloc Guld, the chief of chiefs, has ordered that you be given leave to flee and spread the message of our coming."

"Krogan don't usually let people go," Shepard said to him.

"No, they don't," Grunt growled. He then went to address the clan speaker. "This clan doesn't seem so tough. We have killed dozens of their members on the way here."

"You only faced whelps," the clanspeaker retorted. "From here are only the elite. You are here for the Salarian? You will not take him. Having him cure the genophage is the key to our conquest."

Mordin slightly gasped. "Appears they have discovered Maleon's work. Unfortunate."

"It doesn't have to happen like this," Shepard pleaded. "I can understand curing the genophage..."

"No, Human!" the Krogan roared. "You know nothing! You have not seen the pile of children that never lived! The Krogan were wronged! We will make it right, and then we will have our revenge!"

That comment hit too close to home for Shepard. 'You have not seen the pile of children that never lived!' Memories flashed through his mind. The buildings that were engulfed in flames. The dead walking the streets and feasting on the living. Watching children eaten by their own family. All of them screaming for them to stop. Despite all his efforts, he could not save his race. Shepard watched as his race either dropped dead or were consumed. All of this because of a disease inflicted upon them by another alien race. Yes... He could understand. He could relate to the plight of the Krogan.

The galaxy neutered their race and then left them to fend for themselves. They didn't try easing the Krogan towards a better path. They just allowed the Krogan to continue down a path of destruction. A path that will eventually lead to their own extinction despite what the statistics Mordin stated.

"Half of the galaxy sees the Krogan as victims!" Shepard argued. "If you start a war, you will lose their support."

"We have the Blood Pack," the clanspeaker countered, "and we have the Salarian. When our clan number in the millions, we will not need support. When we cure the genophage, Weyrloc Guld will rule all Krogan." The clan speaker went into a tirade.

Shepard saw Grunt becoming increasingly irritated by this Krogan's attitude. Mordin was becoming more anxious. Frankly, Shepard's patience was wearing thin. "Hey!" he yelled. This stopped the Krogan's tirade. Shepard pulled out his pistol. "You talk too much." He fired a round into the pipe below him.

The Krogan took a step back before returning to their original stance. The clanspeaker scoffed. "The Human cannot hit a simple target."

"I wasn't aiming for you," Shepard said.

The other Krogan made the realization and took several steps back. The clanspeaker heard a whistle. He looked down and saw gas spraying out from the pipe. "Huh?"

Shepard fired another round causing a pillar of flames to erupt and engulf the clanspeaker in flames. He screamed as he fell to the ground.

"Attack!" one of the Krogans roared.

"Grunt, Mordin, flank right!"

The two took the ramp upwards while Shepard fired upon the Krogan on the catwalk. The opposition focused on the approaching the Salarian and Krogan. Dark energy surrounded Shepard's body. He went into a biotic charge and impacted the Krogan at the back of the group. The Krogan flew backwards. Shepard pulled out his sword and cut the Krogan in half at the waist. The Krogan was briefly alive when it hit the ground. Shepard spun the sword and stabbed him through the head.

Mordin froze a Krogan and Grunt fired several rounds from his AR shattered it. The next Krogan charged at Grunt. They locked fists. "You are a traitor to our people!" the Krogan growled at Grunt.

"Your clan is not my people!" Grunt said.

"You are nothing!"

"I. AM. KROGAN!" Grunt roared as his head butted the Krogan. He went back a few steps. Grunt pulled out his shotgun and planted the barrel at the Krogan's forehead. He grinned before pulling the trigger.

"Area's clear," Shepard said. "Now that we're facing their elite guards, we must be close to Maleon."

They went through the doorway. There was a disgusting smell in the air. "Labs likely through there," Mordin said. "Can smell antiseptics, hint of dead flesh."

"Just get us there," Grunt mumbled.

They entered the lab. Off to the left was a table with a cadaver on it. Mrdoin approached the table and picked up the datapad. "Dead Krogan. Female. Tumors indicate experimentation. No restraint markers. Volunteer. Sterile Weyrloc female willing to risk procedures. Hoped for cure. Pointless. Pointless waste of life." He leaned against the table.

"I didn't expect you to be disturbed by the sight of a dead Krogan," Shepard commented.

"What?" Mordin exclaimed. "Why? Because of the genophage work? Irrelevant. No, causative. Never experimented on live Krogan. Never killed with medicine. Her death not my work, only reaction to it." Mordin tried to justify himself. His voice was clear that he didn't really believe it himself. "Goal was to stabilize population. Never wanted this. Can see it logically... but still unnecessary. Foolish waste of life. Hate to see it."

"But completely okay if you create a sterilizing plague that causing my people to devolve into a shadow of our previous selves," Grunt countered. "So as long as you don't see it."

"Not what I meant!" Mordin yelled. "Your people forced our hand. It was either genophage or genocide. If only your people weren't so partial towards war this wouldn't have happened. We could never take on Krogan horde. Our hand was forced."

"So why not just go all the way and wipe us all out as oppose to this slow genocide?"

"Outliers are worth saving. Krogan like Wrex. And even you. The death of a specie is tragic. Death of the Rachni... tragic. We didn't want that again." Mordin looked over the Krogan female. He slowly waved his hand over her and said in a hushed tone, "Rest, young mother. Find your gods. Find someplace better."

"That sound religious," Shepard observed in surprised.

"I looked into religions after the project. The grand scope of the project made me think about my place in life. I refuse to believe that life simply ends at death. Too wasteful. So much to do. Salarians follow a religious dogma similar to Human Hinduism. A cycle of life and death. Having the ability to make up for past mistakes."

"It sounded like you had a conflict of conscious. If you feel this way, then why not cure the genophage?"

"Had to be done. Rachni wars, Krogan rebellions all pointed to Krogan aggression. So many simulations. Effects of Krogan population increase. All pointed to war. Extinction. Save galaxy from Krogan. Save Krogan from galaxy."

"You could have cured the genophage, instead. Brought hope to the Krogan. They'd have rejoiced."

"Assumes Human reaction. Krogan stimulus response different. Harsh environment, take chance to fight, flee. Would have caused chaos on Tuchanka. Victor would have war economy, bloodthirsty army. Galactic expansion is only outcome. More war. Genophage saved lives war would have ended."

"How about you stop talking about my people like we are mindless animals?" Grunt said. "Tell me. What do your people plan to do in the future? Just keep neutering us over and over again?"

"If Krogan behaviour does not change, then maybe. We only wish to save each other."

"Look at the dead woman, Mordin," Shepard said. "It doesn't look like you saved her."

"No. It doesn't. Worked with available data. Only option. No other possible... Doesn't matter."

They continued further into the facility. A cell door opened up when the squad walked by. Inside was a lone Krogan. "You killed the Blood Pack guards."

"Not Blood Pack," Mordin declared. "Not member of Clan Weyrloc. Wrong clan markings."

"I'm an Urdnot scout. Weyrloc guards got me. Brought me here."

"The chief scout told me to find you," Shepard said. "We've taken out the guards. You should head back to Urdnot."

"I can't. The Weyrloc did things to me. Drugs. Injections. Said I was sacrificing for the good of all Krogan. Experiments to cure the genophage. Everything's blurry. Hard to think. Have to stay."

"Mordin, can you get him back on his feet? Stims, maybe? Something to bolster his immune system?"

"You don't understand. I'm not too sick to leave. I have to stay. They're curing the genophage. They're going to make us all better! They have to keep doing the tests!"

"Caution, Shepard," Mordin whispered to him. "Patient unstable, susceptible. Brainwashed."

"Why do you want to keep doing these tests?" Shepard continued.

"This is my fault," the Krogan answered. "I got caught. Wasn't strong enough, not good enough. This is the best I can do. This is all I can do. I'm not big enough to have a real shot with the females. I'll never have kids of my own. But if I can help undo the genophage, then I mattered!"

"Millions of children will be born. Weyrloc children. They're going to destroy the other clans."

"But... No! No, they said I was helping Urdnot!"

"If you want to help Urdnot, you need to go back there. But it would take a real badass to make it back to camp while injured."

"I can do it."

"You?" Shepard scoffed. "I said a badass, not some scout whining like a Quarian with a stomach ache."

Grunt laughed at that comment.

"I can do it." The Krogan got to his feet. "I'm up! And I'm going to the female camp!"

"Damn right you are! Get back there and show them what you're worth. Go, go!"

"Rah!" The Krogan charged off in the direction the three came from.

"Nicely done," Mordin said. "Fortunately, the subject is not likely to be contagious."

"Every day you continue to show me that you are worthy of leading," Grunt commented.

"Just don't tell Tali that line about the Quarian stomach ache."

"I'll grant you that mercy," Grunt chuckled.

They moved on and heard EDI announce, "I detect explosive crates ahead of you. A misplaced shot could cause an explosion."

"Or a well placed shot," Mordin corrected. "Explosives useful. Goof for burning through Krogan armour."

The doors opened up. Across the area, they could see two Vorcha. Mordin sent a cryo blast at the two freezing them in place. Shepard used pull to cause the Vorcha to fly towards them. Grunt fired off a couple of round to shatter the two. After their deaths, a Krogan came charging over the pathway. Grunt fired at the explosive crate next to the Krogan. The flames engulfed its body. The force of the explosion sent the Krogan over the railing and down towards the ground as it burnt to death.

Opposition was heavy as they advanced downwards. Krogan were pouring into the area as they descended. Mordin would soften up the Krogan with incineration blasts, while Grunt and Shepard used their weapons and abilities to finish them off. They finished off the remaining forces when the door ahead opened.

A large Krogan emerged from the next room and roared, "Tremble and die, offworld scum! I am Weyrloc Guld, Chief of Chiefs!" He launched a biotic throw at Grunt and another at Mordin launching the two into the wall.

Shepard pulled out Asha and charged forward. He launched a warp at the Krogan in his advance. The Krogan took aim and fired a carnage shot. Shepard fell to his side and slid under the shot and went right up to the Krogan and surrounded his fist with Dark Energy. Shepard punched the Krogan in the face. This caused the Krogan to take a few steps back.

Guld recovered and was just forming a warp ball in his hand. Shepard swung Asha and sliced off his hand cutting off his attack. Guld grabbed his stubbed arm and roared in pain. Shepard sliced off his other hand.

"Bastard!"

Shepard grabbed the end of the handle and swung the sword again slicing off his legs. Guld had his teeth fully bared at Shepard as he tried to stop himself from screaming any louder. Shepard raised his sword over his head and struck downwards splitting the Krogan's head into two.

Mordin walked up next to him. "Was it necessary to prolong that?"

"I like to add style top my attacks," Shepard quipped. "Maleon should be just down those stairs."

The doors opened up and the squad saw Maleon at work at a console. He briefly glanced back and then back to the monitor.

"Maleon," Mordin muttered. "Alive. Unharmed. No sign of restraint. No evidence of torture. Don't understand."

"For such a smart man, Professor, you always had trouble seeing evidence that disagreed with your preconceptions," Maleon scoffed. He turned around. "How long will it take for you to admit that I'm here because I want to be?"

"Maleon is freely working for Clan Weyrloc to get a cure," Shepard said.

"No, not possible," Mordin tried to deny. "We all agreed that the project was necessary."

"How was I supposed to disagree with the great Doctor Solus?" Maleon asked. "I was your student! I looked up to you!"

"Experiments performed here. Live subjects! Prisoners! Torture and executions. Your doing?"

"We've already got the blood of millions on our hands, Doctor. If it takes a few more to put things right, I can deal with that."

Shepard let out a disappointed sigh. "It looks like Maleon doesn't need rescuing. What do you want to do with him?"

"You can't face the truth!" Maleon yelled. He pulled out a pistol and aimed widely. "You can't admit that your brilliant mind has led you to commit an atrocity!"

Mordin punched him in the face causing him to drop his gun. Maleon fell through the holographic monitor and impacted the tank behind it. The glass cracked. Mordin pointed his pistol at Maleon's head. "Unacceptable experiments. Unacceptable goals. Won't change. No choice. Have to kill you."

"Wait!" Shepard said. "You're not a murderer."

Mordin hesitated. "No! Not a murderer." He backed away from Maleon. "Thank you, Shepard." He put his pistol away. "Leave Maleon. You're done here."

"Where am I suppose to go?"

"Try Omega," Mordin suggested. "They could always use more clinics."

"You heard the Professor," Shepard said. "Get out of here."

Maleon made a dash for the exit.

"Apologies, Commander," Mordin said. "Misunderstood mission parameters. No kidnapping. My mistake. Thank you."

"Don't worry about that Mordin. Are you okay?"

"Should have killed him," Mordin said. "Would have been easier for me and him. The actions he has committed shows how far he has fallen. I expected this from Krogan, not one of my own."

"Maybe you'll remember that when you debate about the ethics of the genophage."

"Yes..." Mordin's attention returned to the monitor. "Maleon's research. Only loose end. Could destroy it. Closure, security. Still valuable, though."

"This was the research that includes tests on living victims. It's tainted."

"Right now, victims died for nothing. Keep it, use it, deaths worth something. Maleon's work could cure genophage. Don't know. Effects on Krogan. Effects on galaxy. Too many variables. Too many variables!"

It was obvious to Shepard that Mordin wanted to make up for past sins, and by completing the cure, he may finally get some closure. "You regret what the Krogan have become. You see the horror of what they did here, but you also see the loss, too."

"Wasted potential."

"They don't deserve this, Mordin. Save the data."

"Point taken, Shepard. Capturing data, wiping local copy." The data on the monitor disappeared. "Still years away from cure. But closer than starting from scratch. Done. Ready to be off Tuchanka. Anywhere else. Maybe somewhere sunny."

"We still have Grunt's Rite and then we can leave."

"I look forward to it, Shepard," Grunt said.


	30. Rite

Chapter 28: Rite

The Krogan truck entered the garage of Urdnot camp and came to a full stop. Shepard, Grunt, Mordin and the driver hopped out. "Thanks for the ride back," Shepard said.

"Anytime, Human."

The three were greeted by Wrex. "Glad to see you're back unscathed. How did the mission go?"

"Maleon is... fine. We ended up taking out Weyrloc Guld and his elite guards."

A grin came to Wrex's face. "Good. Weyrloc has been one of my biggest challenges towards uniting the Krogan. You saved me a lot of work, Shepard." Wrex looked to one of his warriors. "Prepare some people."

"Yes, Chieftain," the warrior replied.

"What was that about?" Shepard asked.

"We're going to give the survivors of Clan Weyrloc the option of integration into clan Urdnot."

"Ah, smart move," Mordin said. "Surprising from Krogan."

"We're not all the blood-thirsty monsters the other races portray us as," Wrex dismissed the surprised comment. "Shepard understands that. Well, I came down here to tell you that the arena is ready for Grunt's Rite." Wrex looked back and saw the Shaman and most of the Normandy crew approach. "Ah, here they are now."

"Why is the most of my crew here?" Shepard asked.

"I told them about the Rite you would be participating in and they insisted to spectate."

"We're here to show you our support," Tali said.

"If it doesn't matter to you, Commander," Mordin said. "I'm going to return to the ship. Need to reflect on events."

"Go right ahead. Am I allowed to bring anyone else into the Rite?" Shepard asked the Shaman.

"I'm afraid that only you and Grunt can participate in the Rite," he answered. "I'm already pushing tradition by allowing you to join Grunt's krant. Though if half the stories that are told of you are true, then you should have no problem."

"Hey, Shaman," Zaeed called out. "Where do we place our bets?"

"At the terminal in the observational area." The Shaman turned to Shepard and Grunt. "Now, if you are ready we should start the Rite while we still have daylight."

"We're ready," Shepard said. "Let's do this."

"Excellent."

VVVVVV

Shepard's crew got to their seats. Miranda sat there with her arms crossed and sighed.

"Something wrong, Miri?" Jacob asked.

"I just think we should be spending our time on something more important than a Krogan Rite," she replied.

"Like what? We are currently waiting on the Illusive Man to give us a tip. Anyways, this Rite is supposed to calm Grunt and make him more focused. I'd saw that is worth our time."

"Just enjoy yourself, princess," Jack said while sitting in front of her.

"Where have you been?"

"Getting food for everyone from the Fish-Dog Food Shack." She passed Jacob and Miranda a shishkabob. On the skewer were a variety of cooked meats and at the end was a Varren eye.

Miranda stared at the foot-and-a-half long stick of meat with disgust. Jacob cautiously nibbled on the meat. His eyes widen as he took a more confident bite. "It's really not that bad."

"Just get over the look and have a taste," Zaeed said while grabbing a skewer. "We're on Tuchanka, not an Illium resort, so enjoy what you can." Zaeed tore the meat away from the stick.

"Now, now," Kasumi said while appearing next to them and taking a stick of meat. "Let's not tease Miranda."

"Thank you, Kasumi."

"After all, she is a classy lady who should be congratulated for coming down onto this planet," Kasumi said in jest.

Miranda sighed in defeat.

Samara took a stick of meat from Jack's box. "Thank you for bringing this food, Jack."

Miranda raised a brow at the Justicar taking this food.

Samara smiled. "When you travel around the galaxy facing its many evils, you learn to be less picky about what you eat."

Jack looked to Thane. "You want any?"

Thane slightly smiled and said, "No, thank you. I ate before we landed here."

Jack saw Tali and Garrus sitting contently. "I couldn't find anything that was dextro for you two, so you'll have to make due."

"Thank you for the thought," Tali said.

"Can't wait to see this. From what I've heard from the Krogan around here, Shepard and Grunt will have to survive several waves of Tuchanka's wildlife in order to pass the Rite. This should be fun to watch."

"Oh, Shepard will put on a show alright," Tali said in an amused tone.

"We can always count on Shepard to put on a show," Wrex said as he sat down. He saw the skewer that Miranda held. "If you're not going to eat it, mind if I have it?"

"Enjoy yourself," Miranda said while passing the shishkabob.

"Shepard will have to survive three waves," Wrex said. "The first wave will be of Varren. Grunt and he will need to kill about couple dozen of them. Next they will face Klixen and will need to kill about a dozen of them."

"What about the third round?" Garrus asked.

"A surprise." The holographic monitor in front of the observation area lit up. It showed Grunt and Shepard exiting the entrance hole into the arena. "And so it begins."

VVVVVV

Ahead Shepard could see the keystone that the Shaman mentioned. He walked up to the switch and activated the decrypted space elevator. The elevator rose up. The Shaman began his commentary. "First the Krogan conquered Tuchanka and mastered a natural world only we are fit to hold."

The elevator reached its peak and then slammed down into the ground letting out a loud ringing noise. A growl is heard coming from the structure across the area. A couple packs of Varren charged out of the top of the building. They jumped down from the structure. They sniffed the area and then glared at Shepard and Grunt. The Varren rushed towards them.

"Here they come," Grunt said.

"Let them come close," Shepard said. "I'll hit them with a cryo blast. You finish them off."

The pack of Varren moved up the stairs only to get a cryo blast in the face. Grunt let out a throaty laugh. "Stupid animals!" Grunt charged forward and ran right through the frozen Varren. They shattered from the impact.

"Grunt, fall in!" Shepard ordered. "Get ready for the next wave!"

The familiar roar of the Varren was heard. Eight Varren emerged from the top of the buildings and jumped down into the arena. Shepard moved down the steps with Grunt. He waved his arm and used a biotic throw to push the three Varren on the right into the group on the left. The Varren quickly recovered and got back on their feet. Shepard waved his arm and sent a shockwave at the large group of Varren. Without giving them a chance to land on the ground, he used pull on them as they flew off of the ground.

Grunt took aim with his shotgun and fired round after round at each of the flying beasts. "Heh, I want more!" Grunt was knocked to the ground by a Varren that jumped from the building to their right. He blocked its mouth with his shotgun and struggled with the beast. Shepard ran up and kicked the Varren in the chest sending it to the ground. It let out a whimper.

Grunt took his shotgun and aimed at it while he was still lying. He pulled the trigger and blew its head off. "Beast doesn't know who its dealing with," Grunt dismissed while getting to his feet. He fired another round into its chest.

They waited for any more noise of approaching animals. The area was quiet save for the gusting wind. The two went up the steps and saw that the keystone was ready to be activated again.

"Looks like the next round is ready to begin," Grunt said. "Let's activate this keystone."

Shepard noticed a fire in Grunt's eyes. This ritual was awakening a dormant part of him. Whether it's good or bad, remains to be seen. He pressed the keystone. The column rose up. "Then the Krogan were lifted to the stars to destroy the fears of a galaxy. An enemy only we can chase to their lair." The column slammed into the ground releasing a different ringing echo.

Grunt and Shepard saw something fly in from around the ruins. "Harvester!" Shepard called out. They focused their fire on the wings of the incoming insectoid. Its wings blew apart and the creature crash landed into the arena. Its head impacted a wall section killing it.

Two creatures that were clanged to the Harvester's stomach like a parasite awakened and moved themselves off of the Harvester.

"Klixen," Grunt grumbled. "That's fine. They'll still die!"

Grunt charged at one of the Klixen. The creature tried to spit its flames, but Grunt lifted its front end redirecting the flames. "You'll all die!" he roared as he lifted the creature up. Grunt threw the creature towards the other Klixen. As it flew, Grunt pulled out his plasma shotgun and charged it. He released the trigger unleashing a fireball at the two stunned insects. The attack burnt a hole directly through them.

Several more Harvesters flew into the arena. Grunt and Shepard glanced to each other. "You ready to show them Krogan might?"

"It is what I was born to do," Grunt answered.

VVVVVV

The observation area was filled with cheers for the two combatants.

"Give them hell!" one of the Krogan yelled.

Wrex laughed. "This is the best entertainment we've had in decades."

They watched as Shepard and Grunt tore their way through Klixen after Klixen.

"I wish I placed a bet," Garrus joked.

The crowd roared again when Shepard froze two of the Klixen and lifted them with his biotics and then slammed them into the ground. The insects shattered into pieces.

"Wrex," Tali said to get his attention. "Really. What is the third wave?"

Wrex watched as Shepard and Grunt eliminated the last of the Klixen. "You'll see in a moment."

VVVVVV

Shepard approached the keystone wondering what the final test is for Grunt join Clan Urdnot. He looked to Grunt. Despite his genetic superiority gifted to him at birth, fatigue was starting to set in. "You ready for this, Grunt?"

"Always ready. Now let's kill what is stupid enough to stand before us."

Shepard pressed the keystone. The column rose up and the Shaman continued the Rite of Passage tale. "Now all Krogan bare the genophage: our reward, our curse. It is a fight where the only goal is survival!" The column slammed into the ground and released a deep vibration into the ground. The sound was low-pitched and reverberated through Shepard and Grunt.

After the noise stopped, the ground started to shake like a tremor. "You feel that, Shepard?" Grunt asked. "Everything is... shaking."

A loud growl came from the ground. Three neon-blue tentacles sprouted forth from the ground. Bright blue bulbs surrounded the base of the appendages. At the end of each tentacle was what could be described as a forked tongue of the appendage. The tips glowed brightly. Shepard has seen them before.

"Thresher Maw!" he called out. Shepard took aim at one of the three tentacles and fired his pistol repeatedly. Grunt joined him with his AR. The tentacle was the most sensitive part of a Thresher Maw.

The tentacles waved widely and were sucked back into the ground. The ground started shaking again. Dirt flew up as the behemoth crawled through the ground. The ground rumbled as the Thresher Maw burst out of the ground in front of the arena and let out a fearsome roar. The ground shook again and two more Thresher Maws emerged from the ground, one at each side of the arena.

"Shit," Shepard mumbled.

VVVVVV

The Krogan in the observation area were deafening. This was the moment they were waiting for. Here they would see the supposed Thresher Slayer take on three Thresher Maws at once.

"Oh, Keelah!" Tali yelled. "What the hell is this?"

"The final round," Wrex answered.

"Wrex there is no way they can take on three Thresher Maws on foot!"

"You have to end this now before he gets killed," Miranda interjected.

Wrex glared at Miranda. "This is the Rite of Passage. It is forbidden to interfere with it. To do so will exile Shepard and Grunt from this planet. It is very rare for anymore than one Thresher Maw to show up. Just watch. According to the stories, Shepard took on a nest of Thresher Maws by himself. Don't worry yourself over him."

"I guess we have no choice," Tali said in a defeated tone.

"He'll be fine," Garrus assured her.

Another, louder, roar emanated from the arena. It made the three Thresher Maws take pause. It even looked like they were panicking.

"What's happening?" Kasumi asked out loud.

Wrex slowly got to his feet as he watched the screen with a narrow focus. "It can't be..."

VVVVVV

"What now?" Shepard groaned after hearing the loud roar.

"What ever it is, it has the Thresher Maws spooked," Grunt remarked.

The ground shook with a greater intensity than the previous Thresher Maws. It nearly made Grunt and Shepard lose their footing. The Thresher Maw to the right was pulled right under ground as its dark orange blood spurted from its mouth. The other two Maws released a whimper before trying to escape from the area.

The Maw in front of the arena was too late to retract into the ground as it violently shook from the mystery creature attacking it underground. The ground continuously shook for a minute as Shepard and Grunt waited for it to stop.

The tremors finally subsided after a minute and the area was quiet. Grunt too a step forward while scanning the area. "You think it's gone?"

"Not sure. Keep your guard up."

And not a moment after that statement that the ground shook again. The area in front of them exploded into a massive geyser of dirt and rock. The two buildings that stood where the Varren came from were destroyed in the emergence. The dirt started to settle to reveal the leviathan.

Before Shepard was a Thresher Maw unlike any they have ever seen. It had scars along its face to display its old age and experience. The glow that came from its mouth tentacle was slightly dimmer than that of the other Maws. There were cracks along the blades of its arms. The beast itself was easily over twice the size of even the previous biggest Thresher Maw.

In its mouth, it held the unlikely sub-adult Maw. Blood pouring down its body as it sunk in deeper.

VVVVVV

All noise came to a halt in the observation area. No Krogan dared to break the silence. This... This was a moment in history. They all stood up in respect.

"I did not believe it existed," Wrex said.

"What the hell is that thing?" Miranda demanded.

"The Legendary Colossal Thresher Maw."

"I thought they were a legend," Samara said.

"Maws keep growing throughout their lives. They are usually killed by a rival Maw before they get much bigger than what we usually see. But this... I have never seen a Maw this size in all my life."

"I'm starting to rethink my bet," Zaeed muttered under his breath.

VVVVVV

"Holy shit," Shepard said in a stretch.

Grunt couldn't say anything. He didn't know whether to be happy to be given the fight of his life, or worried about facing a foe they were not ready for yet.

The Colossal Maw lifted its head and whipped it forward, throwing the sub-adult Thresher Maw towards Shepard and Grunt.

"Move!" Shepard ordered.

They ran forward and rolled to dodge the flying Thresher Maw body. The Maw body had a section of it torn away. The body landed at the back of the arena, cutting off any chance of escape.

Grunt and Shepard quickly got to their feet and started firing their weapons at the Thresher Maw. Shepard threw Warp attack after attack to weaken the armour of its head section. The creature growled and grunted at the attack. It made a slight choking sound and opened its mouth. A glob of green goo flew from its mouth towards the two.

"Acid!" Grunt called out.

The two ran in opposite directions and took cover behind the remnant supports. The acid splattered on the ground. It started eaten away at the ground and hissed as it did. Shepard and Grunt came out from behind cover and continued their assault on the Maw. The Thresher shook its body and then let out a deafening roar that rumbled the area.

The Thresher Maw went back underground. Shepard and Grunt scanned the area in preparation for the monster's next emergence. There was no trail of tossed up dirt to be seen around the arena, yet the area was shaking. The ground that Grunt and Shepard stood on started to splinter and crack.

"It's beneath us!" Shepard yelled to Grunt.

They tried to run off of the arena, but the Colossal Thresher Maw burst out of the ground destroying the area. Shepard and Grunt tried to balance themselves on the chuck of ground that the Maw held. The chuck of concrete tilted towards the mouth of the gigantic worm.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Shepard said rapidly as he and Grunt slid down the ground into the Maw's mouth.

"Not a bad way to go," Grunt commented.

"I'm not planning on going out like this," Shepard said as he pulled out Asha.

VVVVVV

"John!" Tali screamed as she watched the giant Thresher Maw consume the area that Shepard and Grunt were standing on. "Keelah, no!"

Most of the Krogan in the area expressed sounds of pain as they could feel what the two could feel.

"Lost my bet," Zaeed grumbled.

Tali went up to Zaeed and punched him in the face. "Show some concern or respect!"

Garrus placed a hand on her shoulder. "Tali..."

"Not like this," she muttered.

"Tali look!" Kasumi called to her.

Tali looked at the screen and saw the Thresher Maw acting strangely, like it was suffering from a stomach ache.

"W-What's wrong with it?" Tali asked out loud.

Samara smiled. "It appears that this fight is still far from over."

VVVVVV

A ten foot slit was cut in the middle part of the Thresher Maw's exposed body, releasing its dark orange blood. Shepard and Grunt leaped from the wound. As they flew, Shepard swung his sword and cut off the Maw's left arm causing the sickle blade to fall to the ground. The creature screamed in pain.

Shepard surrounded Grunt's body with Dark Energy to reduce the impact to him. Grunt shakily got to his feet. They were cover in mucus, bile and blood. "I thought that my time on Akuze would be the last time I would be swallowed by a Thresher Maw."

"You are hard to kill, I'll give you that," Grunt said while coughing up some of the Maw's blood. He spat on the ground to clear his mouth. Grunt looked at the wounded monster and smiled. "Now let's return the favour."

"You keep it distracted with incineration rounds and concussion shots," Shepard ordered. "I need time for my biotics."

"Yes, Commander." Grunt ran to the left of the new arena. He fired off flaming rounds that burnt away at its armour around its head. The Thresher roared as it focused on Grunt. It struck forward trying to crush Grunt. He rolled out of the way barely dodging the Maw.

Shepard ran over to the sickle claw and started surrounding it with Dark Energy. He struggled to lift the forty foot long blade. It slowly lifted into the air. Shepard's arms slowly went into the air. He turned around. A small drop of blood dripped from his nose. The sickle blade turned around as well, pointed at the Maw that was focused on the troublesome Krogan.

Shepard's arms pulled back past his head. He launched his arms forward with a great force. The Maw blade was throw forward and flew at the Maw. The blade went right through the creature's back and its body. The blade stuck out at both ends of its body.

The sound the Maw made sent chills down Shepard's body. It tried to pull back into the ground and escape but the blade through its body prevented it from doing so. It was stuck.

Shepard rushed over to Grunt. "It's time to end this."

"Right behind you, Shepard."

The Thresher Maw lifted its other arm and struck downwards. Grunt and Shepard dodged the attack. The blade went into the ground. Shepard landed on his feet and launched himself forward. He sliced Asha forward and made the leviathan lose its other arm.

Shepard wasted no time and used his biotics to pull the blade out of the ground and aimed it at the Maw. He whipped it forward. The blade went right through the creature's "neck." It no longer was able to make thunderous roars.

Shepard gave Grunt a look; a look that communicated what to do next. Grunt grinned as he put away his AR and took out his plasma shotgun. Incineration rounds were already activated on it. Shepard surrounded Grunt with Dark Energy and flung him towards the Thresher's face.

Grunt landed on its face and held onto a large bullet wound to hold on. They Maw saw Grunt on its face and tried to shake him off. Grunt aimed his shotgun down at the creature's head. He pulled down the trigger and held it. "You will know what I am creature!" Grunt roared. The blue glow of the plasma shotgun reflected in his eyes. "I. AM. KROGAN!" He released the trigger unleashing the plasma shotgun.

The attack burnt right through the thick armour at short range and blew through the Maw's brain. The Thresher Maw let out one last choked roar before falling to the ground with a loud thud. It landed just a few feet where Shepard was standing.

Grunt looked down at Shepard and gave him a nod of respect. He slid down the Maw's face and landed on the ground.

"I believe you passed the Rite."

"We passed the Rite," Grunt said. A ship flew in overhead. "Looks like we have company. Good! I want more."

The corpse of the smaller Maw that was thrown as rolled over. Its wound now was a bloody arch to the area where the ship was landing. Grunt and Shepard went through and entered the other area. There they were greeted by Uvenk and his krant. Uvenk paced on a concrete divider.

"You live," he said. "And you brought down a Colossal Thresher Maw. Urdnot Wrex was the last Krogan to take down a Thresher Maw on foot. You're the first to take down a Colossal Maw."

"My krant gave me strength beyond my genes," Grunt replied, "which are damn good."

"This will call discussion. I wonder... you say you are pure? No alien meddling in your construction? Just the warlord Okeer?"

"Come on, Uvenk," Shepard asked in jest. "You want to try killing him? Give it your best shot, though that Thresher Maw was just a warm-up compared to what he can do."

"Not yet," Uvenk chided. "This deserves consideration."

"Why?" Grunt questioned. "I'm not getting anymore natural."

"You are powerful. You are a mistake, but your potential could tip the balance of the clans."

"You spit on my father's name," Grunt growled. "On Shepard's name! But now you stop ranting because I'm strong?"

"With restrictions," Uvenk further elaborated. "You could not breed. Or serve on an alien ship. But you would be given clan and name."

Shepard looked to Grunt who looked back. "Grunt. Give him your answer."

Grunt briefly grinned and approached Uvenk. He pulled his head back and heat butted Uvenk knocking him to the ground.

"You dare!" Uvenk roared.

Grunt glared at him. "This Human is more of a warrior than you could possibly hope to become. You are nothing but a weak opportunist."

The Krogan krant unfurled their shotguns. Grunt and Shepard glanced at each other and ran for cover as one of the Krogan fired a carnage shot. The shot splashed harmlessly on their cover.

"I'll take the flank," Shepard said to Grunt. "You take the front."

Grunt nodded and got out of cover and laid down fire against their opposition. Shepard ran around the right while taking out Asha. One of the Krogan soldiers walked down the ramp in front of him. Shepard dashed to the left of him, dodging his shotgun blast. He was too damn fast. Shepard was right in front of him before he slashed his sword horizontally splitting the Krogan in two.

Another Krogan charged at Shepard. Shepard lifted a hand and unleashed a biotic blast sending the Krogan to the ground. He ran to him and stabbed the fallen Krogan in the head.

Grunt punched a Krogan in the stomach and kneed him in the face. The warrior fell to the ground. Grunt lifted his foot and slammed on his head crushing it. Another Krogan charged at him. Learning from the hand-to-hand combat training Shepard gave him. Grunt charged forward but aimed lower on the Krogan. When they connected, Grunt lifted the Krogan clear over him. He spun around and fired a round from his shotgun, ending the Krogan's life before he landed on the ground.

Grunt turned around to receive a punch to the face by Uvenk. "Tank born scum!" They locked fists. Shepard stood by and watched. Uvenk smiled. "Look at that alien. He doesn't even help you in your fight."

"He doesn't help me because this is my fight!" Grunt countered. "That Human is more powerful than you can even begin to imagine." He pounded Uvenk's head which his own to briefly stun him. In that moment, Grunt pulled out his shotgun and pressed it against Uvenk's stomach. He pulled the trigger, blowing out Uvenk's insides.

"Uvenk is meat. Let's signal the keystone to get out of here and leave his body to rot."

VVVVVV

"You have passed the Rite of Passage," the Shaman declared, "earning the honour of clan and name."

Grunt kneeled before the Shaman to end the Rite.

"Many survive, but it has been years since a Thresher Maw fell. You are the first to bring down a Colossal Thresher Maw. Truly the Fates are working in your favour. Your name shall forever live in glory. Grunt, you are Urdnot. You may now own property, join the army, and apply to serve under a Battlemaster."

"Shepard is my Battlemaster," Grunt said. "He has no match."

"Understood. Congratulations, Urdnot Grunt."

"We should head out," Shepard said.

"May your foes be strong to keep you sharp."

The two went down the stairs to be greeted by the Normandy crew. Tali ran to Shepard and embraced him. "I assumed the worse when I saw that Thresher Maw swallow you."

"Hey, it's going to take more that a fictitious giant worm to take me down."

Tali chuckled.

"But now you're going to have to clean your suit, from all of this blood."

"A worthy sacrifice."

"Not a fictitious worm anymore," Garrus corrected. "That thing was basically the Krogan equivalent of, what was that Earth creature? The Loch Noss Monster?"

"It's Loch Ness Monster," Zaeed corrected. "Well, thanks, Commander. I made a small fortune on my bet."

The crew continued praising him and Grunt a little longer before, business had to be attended to. "I have to speak with Wrex, so I'll see you all back on the ship. Tali and Garrus with me. And I believe as a new member of clan Urdnot, it is customary to present yourself before the Chief."

They went their separate ways. Shepard, Tali, Garrus and Grunt walked over to Wrex. The Krogan were calling out Grunt's name as he walked by. The Krogan celebrity.

Wrex leaned forward in his throne. "You can't help but get into trouble, Shepard. No one's killed a Thresher Maw since my turn in the Rite. Next you'll tell me Grunt's a klint and craps dark matter. I guess that's what it takes to replace me." Wrex looked to Grunt. "You are clan Urdnot. Welcome."

"Now the thing with Mordin and Grunt is not the only business I had here," Shepard said. "Can we talk in private?"

"I can spare the time."

"I'll meet you back at the ship, Urdnot Grunt," Shepard said to Grunt.

Grunt nodded, but not before Wrex walked up beside him and said to him. "Know this. You will find the greatest battles in your life with this Human. Follow his orders and you will find your full potential."

Grunt absorbed those words and continued back to the ship.

"I'm actually glad we could speak, Shepard. Remember back on Ilos when Vigil mentioned that alien race: the Articians."

"Yes," Shepard replied. "That's actually part of what I wanted to speak to you about."

"I believe we found an Artician temple," he interjected.

This stunned the three.

"Where?"

"Nearby. It was discovered when we were clearing rumble."

"I need you to take me there now."

"Follow me."

VVVVVV

The four were riding in a Krogan truck to the location of the temple. This would be the time Shepard would let Wrex in on the truth. He has been a good friend and he is a leader of his people. It would be better for him to find out now.

"Now, you said you wanted to speak with me about something?"

"Yes," Shepard replied. "You see this upcoming war with the Reapers is far bigger than you may think."

"Oh?"

"Wrex... There's not really an easy way to say this but... I'm not a Human."

Wrex didn't say anything. Shepard, Tali and Garrus couldn't really tell if Wrex was confused or angry. He was processing those few words. There was so much information behind those few words.

"How- What? You smell Human."

"My people are able to imitate other races," Shepard replied.

A slight amount of rage came across Wrex's face. "You are going to answer my next question truthfully. Are you Shepard? Or someone pretending to be him?"

"I am Shepard," Shepard answered.

Garrus and Tali stared at Wrex waiting to see what he would do next. Wrex's facial emotion did not change after that answer. They wondered if he would be hostile. Against all they expected, Wrex chuckled. "Deep down I knew. You were always too damn tough for a Human. Too damn different. But it is you. I see it in your eyes. You have that fire behind them. A fire that only belongs to you. You've done a lot for me Shepard. The fact that you're not Human doesn't change that." Wrex glanced at Garrus and Tali. "How long have they've known?"

"Since that episode I had back on our mission to take down Saren."

"If it means anything, we're sorry for keeping this from you," Tali said.

"I know, Shepard. This was for a reason. So if you're not Human, Shepard, what are you?"

"I am an Artician."

Wrex's eyes widen. "So you're the one Vigil told us to seek. Why do you look Human?"

"Coincidence," Shepard shrugged in ignorance.

"So the Articians are doing something about these Reapers. Are there other agents?"

"Other agents, yes, but not Artician."

"Why not?"

Shepard went on to tell the story of his life before coming to their galaxy. The plague. The races. The threat of the Reapers. His destiny. Wrex took in this information rather well. He didn't once interrupt Shepard. Wrex just listened.

"...and that is what I am here for."

"We are kindred spirits," Wrex remarked. "Two races who have been devastated by a plague created by another. Difference being is that my race has a chance to recover. So you believe this Oracle knows more about the Reapers than she is letting on."

"I know she is. For the time being, I wait until she reveals this information to me. But it is through the cooperation of our races, that we hope to defeat the Reapers once and for all."

"Who have been made more powerful since they stole Artician technology," Garrus added.

"They will pay for that as well," Shepard said. "Are you okay knowing all this?"

"Life is nothing but one battlefield," Wrex said. "You have to adapt to the changes or be destroyed." The truck came to a full stop. "We're here. Very few know of this temple. Just a little more than a handful outside of us."

They exited the truck and saw a hole in the ground. Wrex jumped down the hole followed by Shepard, Tali and Garrus. The corridor the hole led to was dark. Both Wrex and Shepard activated their biotics to illuminate the way.

"To say this is a temple, may be a bit of an exaggeration," Wrex said. "It's more of a chamber."

The corridor opened into a room with a large wall that was covered in alien symbols and carvings.

"Can you read this?"

"This... This is ancient Artice," Shepard said. "Our language has changed over the eons. This is similar to comparing Human English to Latin."

"But can you read it?"

"I-I can make out some of it." Shepard slid his hand over the carvings. "It is a message by my ancestor from 50, 000 years ago. Shortly after the battle with the Reapers, the Tiven'Vian of the time, my ancestor, went through the wormhole after them, leaving her family behind. She was never heard from again in our galaxy." Shepard continued reading the ancient script. "Some of the writings here are too degraded to truly read. But it mentions her visiting the worlds of this galaxy. I can't make out the rest."

Shepard continued examining the wall. There was a slot that had his family's crest above it. He pulled out Asha and inserted it into the hole. Lines of light journey forth from the hole and cover the wall in various patterns. The crystal end of his swordstaff glowed. The lines then changed and moved to form new shapes. After a few moments of changing, the lines of light formed several lines of words.

"What does it say, Shepard?" Tali asked.

"It's a poem or a riddle."

"Which says?" Garrus asked.

"Translating... Okay it says:

Killing trillions is their crime.

Light of your soul guide your fight.

Evil must be stopped in time.

Never falter, bring your light.

Courage and Will be your tools.

Obstacles ahead, some known, some nondescript.

Ready yourself to break their rules.

You will seek the forgotten crypt.

Below this riddle is an ancient coordinates made through a mathematically formula." Shepard pulled up his omni-tool. "Xiltro, can you scan this for me?"

"Yes, Commander," he answered. "This coordinate style hasn't been used in tens of thousands of years. We would need to consult the archives for this. We also need to take into account of galactic and planetary drift. I can send this back to Nexus, but it will take some time to decrypt it."

"Then do so."

"Interesting," Garrus muttered.

"I'm guessing you're heading out then?" Wrex assumed.

"Afraid so," Shepard said. "You sure you can't come with us?"

"I'm sure, someone has to keep these short-sighted fools in line. And considering what's to come, I'll have to step it up."


	31. Treason

Chapter 29: Treason

The Normandy was getting supplied before it took off from Tuchanka. Nihlus took this time to contact the Council since he did not know of when he would have another opportunity to make contact. Nihlus hid in an isolated area between some ruins. He activated his omni-tool to make a connection.

The holograms of the three Councilors appeared before him. Nihlus was always bothered by the fact that these three would go behind Councilor Anderson's back in his mission to keep an eye on Shepard. Was Anderson even aware of what they were doing?

"Agent Nihlus, it is good to hear from you again," Tevos said.

"Do you have anything further to report concerning, Shepard?" Velarn asked, getting right down to business.

"Much," Nihlus replied. "Shepard, along with Mordin Solus and Miranda Lawson successfully infiltrated the Collector cruiser in order to obtain data needed to navigate the Omega-4 Relay."

"And what were their findings," Dalo asked.

"The Collector homebase is in the Galactic Core."

"Impossible!" Valern asserted.

"The data is there," Nihlus said as he made the transfer. "EDI theorizes that the Collectors use an IFF signal that activates dormant protocols in the Omega-4 Relay that allows safe passage on the other side. This would explain why no one but the Collectors ever gone through the Relay and come back."

"An interesting theory," Tevos said. She glanced down at her console. "We'll have people look at this data to confirm what you've said."

"There is something else, Shepard discovered some... shocking information. We got a DNA analysis of some Collector samples we got from their ship. They're Protheans."

This news made the three stand straighter. Their eyes were wide, mouth agape. The Councilors didn't know what to say to that news.

"How-" Tevos tried to say.

"What-" Velarn attempted.

"Is that information accurate?" Dalo finally got out. "You do realize the implication of this information?"

"I do," Nihlus replied. "I checked in with the Professor. He doubled checked and triple checked. Despite thousand of years of genetic manipulation, they are indeed Prothean."

"This raises so many questions," Tevos said in a little bit of excitement. "Like where have they been all this time? What happened to their empire? Why are they abducting the Human colonies?"

"I think I already know, but you three seem to have dismissed it," Nihlus remarked while making finger quotes.

"Again with the Reaper conspiracy?" Valern scoffed. "I am concerned over your mental well-being, Nihlus."

"I really believe you need to reconsider the possibility."

"We have found no evidence to suggest that the Reapers exist," Dalo said. "It is likely that Saren made them up in order to hide his true purpose in attacking the Citadel and Shepard fell for it. And now it appears that Cerberus is using the same lie to manipulate Shepard again."

"That's enough," Nihlus asserted. "This man helped me find my sister!"

"He... found your sister?" Velarn said.

"He did. She... was in terrible shape and did not make it."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Tevos said in her calming tone. "Though with that news, it concerns me that you may feel a sense of loyalty towards Shepard in easing your personal burden."

"I'll do my mission," Nihlus said in a slight growl, "but I can assure you that Shepard is not in line with Cerberus ideals. The Collectors have been taking thousands of colonists all over the Terminus and must be stopped. I'll see this mission through. Both missions. I'll try to contact you as soon as possible, but considering that the Collector's base is in the Galactic Core, it's possible that I won't return."

"Then good luck in your mission," she said.

"Just, if I don't return, please... look into the Reapers again."

VVVVVV

Tali started up the diagnostics program at her terminal down in engineering. She was in a very lively mood after the events. After Shepard's actions, Wrex's clan grew in strength and now he and Grunt are legends among the Krogan. She found great humour in the announcement EDI made that Grunt had about a dozen breeding requests while Shepard had a few too. Shepard was the butt of many jokes for the day after that.

Unbeknownst to her, Tali was humming a popular Quarian tune to match her positive attitude. "Well, looks like someone is in a good mood," Kasumi said as she appeared next to Tali.

"Today has been a good day. So I'm in a good mood."

"Funny," Kasumi said. "I would think you would be jealous that other women are making passes at Shepard." She referenced the breeding requests for Shepard.

Tali let out a chuckle. "If I did get jealous every time someone made a pass at Shepard, I would be a nervous wreck by now. A lot of women make passes at Shepard. You should see the extranet fan sites."

"There are fan sites?"

"Hundreds. Most of them are mostly focused on Shepard and his likes and dislikes and try to track him. Stalker pages. Then there are the pairing sites."

"Pairing sites?"

"Speculation sites of who Shepard is romantically involved with."

"Oh! And what are the most common theories?"

"Williams and Liara."

"You're kidding!"

"Seriously. There are hundreds of them that are tributes to a relationship between Shepard and Williams or Shepard and Liara. Though, it's the Liara ones that are the most popular and numerous. For some reason a lot of people want to see them together."

"What about you?"

"There are a few sites. Though the most popular one was founded by an old classmate of Shepard's."

"Seriously?"

"Very. On the site she posted pictures of Shepard as a teenager along with photos of him working at the Quarian shelter. Along with photos of him and me together."

"And what were the reactions?"

Tali chuckled a little. "Mixed. There are some who are moved by the idea. The other groups include the ones who would comment, 'FAKE!' or were outright bigoted and argued that Shepard 'would never stoop so low as to being in a relationship with a Quarian.'"

"How do you handle comments like that?"

Tali sighed and said, "It is hurtful to hear it along with women saying that they would be able to offer Shepard more than what a bucket could possibly offer. But at the end of the day... I'm the one bedding him."

Kasumi nearly fell to the ground laughing.

Tali's omni-tool beeped signaling she got a message. She pressed a button and a message appeared before her.

SENDER: Quarian Admiralty Board

RECIPIENT: Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya

By authority of the Admiralty Board, you are hereby ordered to return to the Flotilla to be tried for the crime of treason. You will be granted time to get things in order before you return, but know that if you do not show up for the trial, you will be guilty by default and will be exiled as a result.

Keelah Se'lai, Tali'Zorah.

Suddenly the good mood that Tali was in dissipated. She wasn't upset at first. Just shocked. The way the message was straight to the point. "Oh, Keelah," she gasped.

"What?" Kasumi said. "What did the message say?"

Tali called out to EDI, "EDI I need you to call Shepard down. Tell him it's urgent."

"Right away, Miss Zorah," EDI chimed.

"The message was from the Admiralty Board," Tali answered Kasumi. "They want me to return to face a trial."

"What, why?" Kasumi exclaimed.

Before Tali could say anymore, Shepard came rushing into Engineering. "EDI called me and said you had some urgent news."

"Yes," Tali replied. "I-I may need your help. I just received a message from the Fleet. The Admiralty Board are accusing me of treason. I'm scared, John."

To say Shepard was dumbfounded belittled the situation. "That's crazy! Anyone who knows you would know that you would never betray your own people."

"I don't know," Tali reasoned. "They don't lay charges like this unless the evidence seems absolute. But thanks, I appreciate your faith in me."

"What happens if a Quarian is accused of treason?"

"There's a hearing, with members of the Admiralty Board acting as judges." Tali paced away, couldn't look her love in the eyes. "My father is an admiral on the board. He'll have to recuse himself from judgment. I can't even imagine what he's thinking right now." Tali turned around. "The punishment for treason is exile. If they convict me, I can never go back."

"Then we'll head to the Flotilla."

"I was going to book passage on another ship. I didn't think there would have been time for you to help. Thank you, John."

"Tali, I will always have time for you."

"Of course," she said. 'Shepard always was there for her.' "I'll program the Normandy with the Flotilla's current location. The Admirals will be waiting for us."

"I'm coming too," Kasumi asserted.

The two looked at her in surprise.

"What? Tali is my friend and there's no way I'm letting her go into this hearing alone."

"Thank you, Kasumi," Tali said. "I could use as much support as possible."

"EDI, tell Joker to set course for the Flotilla," Shepard said aloud.

"Relaying orders," EDI replied.

VVVVVV

The Normandy flew into the massive fleet before it. The Migrant Fleet hosted over fifty thousand ships, largely than any race's fleet. Despite the technological superiority of Shepard's army, he was still impressed by the sheer number of ships that the Quarian controlled.

"This is Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya requesting permission to dock with the Rayya," Tali said over the ship's comm.

"Our systems have your ship flagged as Cerberus, verify," the traffic controller requested.

"After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began."

"Permission granted. Welcome home, Tali'Zorah."

"We would like a security and quarantine team to meet us. Our ship is not clean."

"Understood. Approach exterior docking cradle 17."

The Normandy approached the docking cradle and attached itself to it. Several Quarian marines waited outside the airlock waiting for Tali'Zorah and her companions.

Shepard, Tali and Kasumi entered through the airlock and was greeted by one of the Quarians. "Captain Shepard," he greeted. "Tali'Zorah told me a lot about you. I wish we could be meeting under more pleasant circumstances."

"Tali'Zorah helped the Normandy and her crew out of many difficult situations, I owe her a lot," Shepard said.

"I understand," the Quarian Captain, Kar'Danna, said. "As the commander of the vessel that she serves on, your voice carries weight. I wish we could do more to help, Tali. The trial requires that I remain officially neutral, but I'm here if you need to talk. They are charging you with bringing active Geth to the Fleet as part of a secret project."

Tali took a step forward and said in surprise, "That's insane! I never brought active Geth to the Fleet. I only sent parts and pieces."

"We'll deal with that later," Shepard said and then asked the Captain, "What's our next step?"

"Technically I'm under orders to place Tali'Zorah under arrest pending the hearing. So Tali, you are confined to this ship until this trial is over."

"Thank you, Captain," she said.

"Preparations got under way as soon as you arrived. The hearing is being held in the garden plaza. Good luck." The Captain moved out of the way.

Shepard, Tali and Kasumi walked down the corridor. The Quarians around were gossiping about Tali. None of them had the decency to hush their voices as they walked by.

"If Tali'Zorah can't even get a Quarian captain to stand for her, she's as good as convicted," a random Quarian said aloud, most likely well aware that Tali was within earshot.

Tali lowered her head. Kasumi placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's probably best you got Shepard to speak for you. He is well-known for his silver-tongue. Didn't he convince a businessman to invest in the Zhu's Hope colony?"

"He did," Tali replied in a slightly better mood.

"You're not going to be exiled today," Shepard assured her.

The doors opened and at the end of the corridor was Shala'Raan. She was talking to a Quarian woman. She looked towards Tali. "Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. I'm glad you came. I could only delay them for so long."

"Auntie Raan!" Tali exclaimed as she hugged her. The hug was awkwardly one-sided. She released her and stood by her side. "Shepard, you remember Auntie Raan."

"I remember meeting her the last time I visited the Fleet."

"It is good to see you again, Captain Shepard," Raan welcomed.

"Wait!" Tali said in realization. "You called me vas Normandy." She went back to Shepard's side.

"I'm afraid I did, Tali. The Admiralty Board moved to have you tried under that name, given your departure from the Neema."

"What does that mean?" Kasumi asked.

"It means that the Admiralty Board is basically prematurely exiling her," Shepard said with a bit of anger in his voice.

"She still has friends who will still know her as Tali'Zorah vas Neema, whatever we must call you legally."

"I guess this means I'm her defense representative in this hearing."

"It does."

Shepard looked to Tali. "I'll do everything in my power to help you."

"Thank you, Shepard. I could not ask for a better councilor."

"Our legal rules are simple," Raan explained to Shepard. "There are no legal tricks or political loopholes for you to worry about. Present the truth as best as you can. It will have to be enough. Now come. I promised that I would not delay you any longer."

The three followed behind Raan into the plaza. The Quarians in the plaza gathered on the steps to watch the hearing. The other admirals stepped up on their stands in the center of the plaza.

Kasumi stayed within the crowd. She didn't think it would be appropriate to be on the stand along with Shepard and Tali. Shepard and Tali approach the stand.

"This Conclave is brought to order," Raan declared. "Blessed are the ancestors who kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season. Keelah se'lai."

"Keelah se'lai!" the assembly echoed back.

"The accused, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, has come with her captain to defend herself against the charge of treason."

"Objection!" the Quarian in the red suit roared. Shepard recognized him as Admiral Zaal'Koris. "A human has no business at a hearing involving such sensitive military matters!"

"Then you should not have made me her captain!" Shepard argued. "According to section 45 paragraph 2 of the Quarian Military Doctrine, in hearings that involve high-end crimes, such as treason, a Quarian citizen or soldier is to be represented by their ship's captain." Shepard noticed the shocked stance that Zaal'Koris was in. "Yes, I know your laws. According to the Doctrine, all admirals have to be in agreement before stripping someone of their ship name. Now either you are unaware of your own laws, or you are and just forgoing the application of law and order of your own people. If it is the latter then we might as well skip this hearing as you are already exposing your stance before we even start. If it is the prior then I suggest you withdraw your objection and let's start this hearing."

Everyone was shocked by Shepard's display. None of them could expect someone so affluent in knowledge of their laws. Even someone within the Fleet would not be so knowledgeable. Tali was feeling a little better after seeing his display. She knew he was only warming up.

Zaal's stance became tense after Shepard's argument. "Objection withdrawn," he said. Zaal felt humiliated.

"Shepard vas Normandy, your crewmember Tali'Zorah stands accused of treason. Will you speak for her?"

Shepard leaned against the stand. "If it helps Tali, I will. But in her heart she remains Tali'Zorah vas Neema, a proud member of the Migrant Fleet. I regret that her captain is forbidden to stand by her side today."

"No one is forbidden from anything," Zaal countered. "It is a simple-"

"Lie to them if you must, Zaal'Koris, but don't lie to me and expect me to stay silent," Gerrel interrupted. "The human is right!"

"Admirals please!" Raan said to stop the argument. She leaned forward in her stand. "Shepard's willingness to represent Tali'Zorah in this hearing is appreciated." Raan pushed herself off. "Tali, you are accused of bringing active Geth onto the Fleet. What say you?"

"Tali would never endanger the Migrant Fleet," Shepard responded. "She pleads not guilty."

"I left parts and technology for teams to pick up," Tali explained. "My father ordered me to do so." She wondered where he was. Was he so disappointed in her that he refused to show up? "But I would never send active Geth to the Fleet! Everything I sent was disabled and harmless."

"Then explain how the Geth seized the lab ship that your father was working," Zaal'Koris replied in an arrogant tone.

The area was aloud with voices of the people.

"What are you talking about?" Tali demanded. "What happened?"

"As far as we can tell, Tali," Gerrel answered, "the Geth have killed everyone on the Alarei. Your father included."

"What! Oh, Keelah."

Shepard quickly stepped in to control the situation. As much as it angers him at the obvious political ploy they were playing, he kept his cool for Tali's sake. "I appreciate the need for this trial, Admirals," he lied. "But our first concern must be the safety of the Migrant Fleet. The Normandy stands ready to assist in whatever capacity is necessary."

"Thank you," Raan said. "Quarian strike teams have attempted to take the Alarei. So far, without success."

"Shepard we have to take back the Alarei," Tali said to Shepard.

"The safest course would be to simply destroy the ship," Zaal suggested.

"Really?" Shepard exclaimed. "Destroying a ship that is surrounded by ships? What is acceptable collateral damage to you? Send us in. We'll clear the ship."

Zaal was annoyed at the Human basically calling him an idiot again.

"You intend to take the Alarei back from the Geth?" Raan asked for clarification. "This proposal is extremely risky."

"With your permission, Admiral, yes. The good of the Fleet must come first. And Tali needs to find her father."

"Agreed," Gerrel commented. "And if you die on this worthy, Tali, we'll see that your name gets cleared."

"We can discuss that later," Zaal said to him in a hushed tone.

"Then it is decided," Raan announced. "You will attempt to retake the Alarei. You are hereby given leave to depart the Rayya. A shuttle will be waiting at the docking hangar. Be safe, Tali. This hearing will resume upon your return or upon the determination that you have been killed in action."

The crowd quickly dispersed upon the recess. Shepard, Tali and Kasumi went up the steps. The two lovers turned to face each other.

"Thank you for agreeing to take back the Alarei," Tali said to him. "The admirals sound sure that my father is already dead but... I don't know. We won't know anything until we get there."

"How are you holding up?" Shepard asked in concern. "They threw a whole lot of fire at you, even before telling you about your father."

"I knew this would be bad but I guess you're never really ready to be charged with treason. And my father could still be alive. They don't know for certain that he's dead. I just don't know Shepard, and I need to find out."

"Is there anyone you want to talk to before we head out?"

"We could talk to some of the admirals and gauge their viewpoints, but I doubt we could change their minds by talking to them."

"We hurry through it then. We need to get onto the Alarei ASAP."

VVVVVV

The shuttle was making its approach towards the Alarei. The cabin Shepard, Tali and Kasumi shared was private without any marines. Shepard had his arm wrapped around Tali and held her close to him. Kasumi sat across from them.

"We'll find your father, Tali," Kasumi assured her friend.

"I hope so," she said.

The shuttle docked at the docking cradle. The shuttle emitted a loud thump inside of itself as it did. The doors opened allowing them to enter the ship.

The corridor was eerily quiet. A dead Quarian woman was slumped against the hallway. Tali looked at the body as they walked by. The door opened at the end of the hallway. The next room had three Geth on the other side.

Kasumi opened fire on the Geth on the right. Tali fired one round from her plasma shotgun at the one in the middle. Shepard fired three rounds from his pistol, destroying its head.

Several more Geth entered the room. Three troopers and two hunter class Geth. Xiltro piped in, "I want to try something."

Shepard's omni-tool had green electricity sparked around it before it surged. The electricity flew forward and impacted one of the Geth hunters. The green electricity arced around its body cause it to spasm. The sparks took only a few seconds before it subsided. The hunter raised its AR and fired a full round at point blank into the other hunter. The troopers aimed at the hunter, but were quickly mowed down by the higher-class Geth solider.

"Interesting new look, Xiltro," Shepard remarked. "Though I doubt the Quarian marines will allow you to reenter the Rayya."

The hunter shrugged. "This is just for here. It's been weeks since I was able to move around in the physical world."

Shepard noticed that Tali was apprehensive of Xiltro's presence. "You okay, Tali?"

"I know it's him, but..." she replied. "I'm just not used to being around a Geth without it shooting me."

"Understood, Ser knight," Xiltro said. "Though I think you all could use a fourth wheel."

"Did you get any information from the Geth hunter?"

"Oddly enough, no. There is absolutely nothing in here."

"How's that possible?" Kasumi asked. "Shouldn't there be dozens of Geth programs inside that hunter. That's how they work, right, Tali?"

"Yes," Tali replied. "A Geth shouldn't be able to operate otherwise. You sure there's nothing in there?"

"Yes," Xiltro said. "For all intents and purposes, this is a husk."

"So what does that mean?" Kasumi asked for clarification.

"It means that they're being controlled by another source," Xiltro answered. "Whatever signal was being sent to this platform, was cut off. I would suggest we look for the terminal that is sending the signal in order to shut down the Geth here."

"Then we locate that terminal," Shepard said. "Let's move."

A room across from the one they were in had a Geth unit inside. Tali entered the room and examined the inactivate construct. "This is one of the storage units I sent to my father. Looks like parts from a disabled repair drone, plus a reflex algorithm that I didn't recognize. I got this on Haestrom."

"How did you pull that off? Haestrom was a war zone."

"These suits have more pockets then they look. Quarians have learned to salvage whatever we can whenever we can. Within reason. We're not Vorcha. But we repair what most people would throw away. Hundreds of the ships in our fleet were salvaged wrecks, either found dead in space or purchased for next to nothing."

"Does that salvaged Geth give you any clues as to what happened here?"

"No. I don't know. John, I checked everything I sent here. I passed up great finds because they might be too dangerous, prone to uncontrolled reactivation or self-repair." Tali sound stressed in her voice. "I don't know which possibility is worse. That I got sloppy and accidentally sent something dangerous, or... that father actually did all of this."

They continued down the corridor. Along the way, they watched several logs of the Quarian scientists. Many of them did not sound good, especially the one of the mother leaving a message for her children. The videos did nothing to make Tali feel any better.

The group of four fought their way through a couple of labs before they encountered a terminal inside a small room. Tali walked up to it and accessed its files. Xiltro's Geth body was starting to fall apart. The body was riddled with bullet holes. Luckily the body had no pain receptors, so Xiltro was able to act as a meat shield.

"This console might have something," Tali said as she accessed the console. "Most of the data is corrupt, but a few bits are left." She took a minute to quickly read over the data that was left over. "They were performing experiments on Geth systems, looking for a way to overcome Geth resistance to reprogramming."

Xiltro took a closer look at the data. "Interesting."

"You have a problem with this?"

"No. And I would be a hypocrite to be critical of trying to find better ways to overcome Geth systems. It's just my concern what are your father's intentions with these experiments. I would be concern about the idea of trying to take over the Geth again."

"He wouldn't do that," Tali said. "He would not be so foolish to try that."

"Anything on that console could be used to clear you?" Kasumi asked.

"Doubtful. This is mostly results data. Effects of different disruptive hacking techniques. I don't understand it all. But... they may have been activating Geth deliberately. Nothing says specifically. But if they were... then father was doing something terrible. What was all this, father? You promised to build me a house on the homeworld. Was this going to get us back home?"

"That promise will be fulfilled, Tali," Shepard assured her. "You have my word. Your people are not alone in this galaxy. After this mission with the Collectors, the Order will enter this galaxy and we can get to reclaim your homeworld."

"Right." Tali sounded a little more positive.

The door opened to a two-leveled cargo room. Several Geth entered the room through the door on the left, and about half a dozen entered the room at the bottom floor. Xiltro jumped over the railing. "I'll take care of the group down here. You take the ones at the top floor."

Xiltro charged into the group of Geth and was firing at them at point blank. The group returned fire, even severing a leg. "Time to switch." Green electricity spark from the hunter body and jumped to another hunter. The Geth didn't have the time to react before Xiltro held down the trigger of his AR and cleared the area of its Geth presence.

Xiltro looked up at the balcony and watched as Shepard, Kasumi and Tali finish off the last Geth at the top level. "You three good up there?"

Kasumi used overload to shut down the lone Geth. "We're good. I see you have a new body."

"Yeah. Just like the last one, there's nothing in here." Xiltro heard some groaning behind him. He turned and saw a Quarian in a red and white suit on the ground still moving. "We have a live one here!" He quickly turned invisible to avoid being seen by the survivor.

Shepard, Tali and Kasumi ran down the stairs and approached the Quarian. Tali immediately recognized him. "Father!"

"Tali?" he groaned. Rael had several bullet wounds.

"What did you do here father?" she demanded. "Did you reactive the Geth parts I sent you?"

"Geth... Parts..." Rael was too weak to say anything. "Reactive?"

Shepard tried putting pressure on the wounds to stop the bleeding. "He's losing blood!"

Rael stopped moving or say anything.

"Father?" Tali called out to him.

"He's passed out from the blood loss." Shepard used some medigel on the wounds. He used his omni-tool to check his vitals. "His vitals are fading fast."

"Father!" she choked. "Please, John! Do something!"

Shepard gave a look of seriousness before saying, "There might be something I can do." Shepard raised his hands over Rael's body. They started to glow green.

"Commander what are you doing?" Xiltro demanded. His voice went up in level. "What are you doing?" He stepped forward but Kasumi stepped in his path.

Rael's body was engulfed in light.

"Stop this, Commander! Stop! You crazy sonuva-"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Kasumi demanded.

The light from the body faded. The wounds were healed over. Shepard slumped over and fell to the ground.

"John!" Tali screamed. He didn't appear to have any consciousness.

Xiltro shoved Kasumi out of the way and scanned Rael. "Rael's vitals have stabilized. He will need his suit repaired, but he'll live." He then scanned Shepard with his omni-tool. "He's alive. Thank the Architect."

"What do you mean by that?" Kasumi inquired.

"You two have any idea of what he just did? Shepard used a forbidden ability of his people just to heal Rael. Stupid, stupid bastard." Xiltro moved Rael to the side room.

"Forbidden?" Tali repeated.

"For good reason. Now most Articians have the ability to heal themselves, usually relying on their body's own energy reserves such as fat. Now if an Artician suffers critical wounds, they will use an ability similar to Samara's Reave. I believe you've seen him use it before on Mindoir, correct, Ser Zorah." Tali nodded. "That isn't the only thing an Artician is able to do with that power. They can use it to heal others, but it can come at a heavy price. The power is extremely draining on the Artician. In cases where the person's wounds are severe, that power can kill them. Shepard knew very well that by saving your father, it could have killed him."

Tali went to Shepard's unconscious form and shook him by his shoulders. "John." She shook him again. "John."

"It's likely that the only reason he still lives is because he is a Tiven'Vian."

"John!"

Shepard moaned and shifted. He opened his eyes and saw Tali looking down at him. "Hey, beautiful. Is your father okay?"

"Yes, he's okay, you saved him," she answered. Tali was almost hysterical and nearly losing her father and lover. "What were you thinking? You could have died doing that!"

"I just want to make you happy, Tali. I wanted to save what family you had left."

Tali cupped his face. She shook her head. "J-Just don't do that again. I don't want to lose you, again."

Shepard struggled to get back to his feet. "I'm still here." He gave her a reassuring hug. "Where do we go from here?"

"My father might have left a message." Tali activated his omni-tool. A hologram appeared of him.

"Tali, if you are watching this, then I am dead. The Geth's main hub will be on the bridge. You'll need to destroy it to stop their VI processes from forming new neural links. Make sure Han'Gerrel and Daro'Xen see the data. They must-"

"Thanks, Dad," Tali said in a solemn tone. With her father and soul mate nearly dying on her, she was at her wit's end.

"He knew you would come for him," Shepard tried to comfort her. "He was trying to help you. It's not perfect. It's not what you wanted, but it is the best he could do."

"I don't know what's worse. Thinking he never cared, or that he did, and this was the only way that he could show it. It doesn't matter. One way or another, I care. And I'm here, and we're ending this."

The four went up the stairs and opened the door to the bridge. Several Geth troopers and a hunter surrounded a Geth Prime.

"Oh, this looks fun," Xiltro quipped.

"Xiltro, Kasumi take the left flank, while Tali and I take the right."

"'Kay, Shep," Kasumi complied as she and the hunter Exion move to the left. Xiltro and Kasumi used overload on a couple of troopers, frying their systems.

Tali summoned his combat drone. The construct spun around the Prime zapping it with electricity.

"Perfect distraction," Shepard said to her.

Shepard sliced the hunter in front of them down the middle and ran by it. He swung the sword and dismembered its arms. The armless Prime stared at Shepard in what could be described as surprise. Shepard swung it again, decapitating it.

"Area clear," Kasumi said. She looked to the terminal. "Is that it?"

"Yes, this is the console hub my father mentioned," Tali replied. "Disabling it will shut down any Geth we might have missed." She accessed the console. "It looks like some of the recordings remain intact. They'll tell us how this happened, what father did."

"It sounds like you don't really want to hear it," Shepard observed.

"No," she answered him. "We have to, I know. I just... this is terrible, Shepard. I don't want to know that he was part of all this."

Tali started the video log. It showed a couple of Quarian scientists standing at the terminal. Rael approached them from behind.

"Do we have enough parts to bring more online?" Rael asked the two scientists.

"Yes," the male scientist replied. "The new shipment from your daughter will let us add two more Geth to the network."

"We are nearing a breakthrough on systemic viral attacks," the female scientist added. "Perhaps we should inform the Admiralty Board just to be safe."

"No," Rael asserted. "We are too close. I promised to build a house on the homeworld. I'm not going to sit and wait while politicians argue."

"We'd have an easier time of it if Tali'Zorah could send us more working material," the male scientist suggested.

"Absolutely not," Rael scorned. "I don't want Tali exposed to any political blowback. Leave. Tali. Out of this. Assemble new Geth with what we have. Bypass security protocols if need be." The video cut out.

"He really wanted to keep his promise," Shepard said.

"I never wanted this," Tali said. "Keelah... I never wanted this." She walked away a few steps. "Everything here is his fault! I tried to pretend it didn't point to him, but this... When this comes up in the trial, they'll..." Tali spun around and walked up to Shepard. "We can't tell them, not the admirals, not anyone."

"I..." Shepard tried to get out. "You already know what will happen if we don't use this evidence. I'll abide by your decision. And know that you will always have a place by my side."

"Thank you, John. That's what I wanted to hear."

"Shep, you can't be serious!" Kasumi argued. "Tali will be exiled if you don't use this evidence."

"Her father will be exiled if we do use it," Shepard said back to her.

"And I don't want my father's accomplishments to be overshadowed by this," Tali added.

"Though your father might complicate things. Right now he is unconscious, but when he wakes up, he might not want you to burden his punishment."

"We'll deal with that as soon as he wakes up."

Shepard looked to Xiltro. "Clear everything."

"Yes, Commander." He approached the terminal. Green electricity surged around the platform and then entered in through the console.

VVVVVV

Xiltro floated around inside the ship's network. It was a large green holographic plan with databases and systems buildings that dotted the landscape. Databases were large green holographic buildings with Quarian symbols lining them. Xiltro approached the first database and interfaced with it. Blue connectors came from his hands and attached his form to the database.

"I'm in. Examining." Thousands of files flew through his mind. The video log that they just watched went through. Before it could leave, he stopped the process. "Hold it... Something's not right about this file."

"How so?" Shepard's disembodied voice said in the landscape.

"There's an anomaly. Commencing deep scan." Xiltro's eyes glowed bright orange. "Scan complete. Commander, this file is falsified."

"What?" Tali's voice chimed in. "How do you know?"

"Upon further analysis, the audio and video do not match up. Deep within its code, the dates are off. The video was made separately from the audio. And get this. Upon further analysis of the audio, shows that the audio file is not naturally recorded."

"So it was spliced?" Kasumi asked for clarification.

"Just like what you did during the Hock heist, but this is much more advance."

Xiltro felt a presence move nearby. There was a sound. He turned around in time to see something move nearby. "Commander... I'm not alone in here."

VVVVVV

The doors to the room opened. This caught the group's attention. Their eyes watched it. The familiar stuttering noise was made. A Geth trooper emerged from the other room.

"Geth!" Shepard roared.

Kasumi rolled to the right and sent an overload at the Geth. "Ha! Got it!"

The three looked through the door and saw many, many more Geth making their approach.

"Xiltro, we have incoming, multiple incoming hostiles!" Shepard yelled through his communicator. "I need the hub shut down now!"

"I have problems of my own!" Xiltro screamed back.

"Like what?"

VVVVVV

Xiltro saw the entity emerged from behind one of the databases. The entity was red in its holographic colour and looked exactly like the Collector General avatar back at the Collector Ship. "I've identified the one responsible for all of this. It's a Collector virus!"

"I need you to take it down," Shepard ordered.

Xiltro summoned several panels in front of him. He pressed a few buttons and called forth several anti-viral constructs. "I took down the last avatar. I'll take you down too!"

The blade covered orbs rushed at the Collector virus. The virus raised its talons and struck forward. The blows destroy every anti-viral that tried to attack. The Collector flew forwards and tried to attack Xiltro. Xiltro dodged its attacks effortless. "I see you people upgraded. Good. I like challenges."

Xiltro grabbed one of its talons and flung the monstrosity down towards the ground. The creature impacted the holographic ground, destroying some data. Xiltro raised his hands, with the tops facing the Collector. He waved them towards him. "Come on."

Holographic panels appeared around Xiltro. The Collector virus flew upwards. Xiltro summoned over a hundred anti-virals and sent them to attack. The Collector virus bull-rushed its way through the wall of anti-viral agents. Upon reaching the other side of the wall, the anti-virals disappeared. It looked up and saw Xiltro flew at it while brandishing two long narrow swords.

Xiltro dashed by it while slicing with both of his swords. The Collector froze in place. Xiltro flew about a small distance away from the virus before he stopped. The digital swords dissipated from his hands. He turned around and saw the virus' avatar becoming slightly unstable. Xiltro raised his arms. The blue connectors emerged from his hands and launched forward. They attached themselves to the virus.

"Your data is mine!" he yelled as the connectors brightly glowed.

The virus let out one defiant scream before it disintegrated and assimilated. Xiltro absorbed any knowledge the virus had. If he were to fight another virus similar to this avatar, he would have an easier time in weakening it.

VVVVVV

The Geth bodies were really starting to pile up on the stairs. A Prime made it about halfway up the stairs before the light in its optics went out. The Prime slumped in place and fell down the stairs. Shepard, Tali and Kasumi lowered their weapons while breathing a sigh of relief.

"Viral infiltrator has been eliminated," Xiltro announced over the comm.

"Good job, Xiltro," Shepard congratulated him. "Can you tell why the Collector virus was doing here?"

"Yes," he replied. "I was able to assimilate its data. The Collectors were hoping to break the Migrant Fleet apart before the Reaper invasion."

"How?" Tali piped in.

Green electricity jumped from the terminal back to Shepard's omni-tool. "The Reapers know about the political conflict going on in the Fleet. The faction that wants to go to war with the Geth, the faction that wants to settle on a new world, and the one that wants to control the Geth again. This virus had many functions for this mission. It activated the Geth on this ship and controlled them in order to kill everyone on board. Now this virus was not planning to take over ships and cause chaos."

The three placed their weapons back in place on their armour.

"It realized that it would have been isolated by Quarian techs and then deleted. It had another plan altogether. It created falsified footage to make it appear that an admiral betrayed his own people. This virus monitored broadcasts from the Fleet and knew that they planned to destroy this ship. It was preparing for that. The Geth placed, what you could call, black boxes around this ship. As soon as this ship was destroyed, the parts would allow the virus to get close enough to a ship of the Fleet and jump over. From there, it would broadcast the footage around the Fleet. And once everyone saw that footage, it would cause an outrage and would split up the Fleet among the three factions. Thus weakening the Quarians in time for the Reapers invasion."

"God damn," Shepard gasped. He looked to Tali. "At least your father was innocent of what happened here." He could see her smile under the face plate. "Can you give me the evidence to prove this?"

"Yes, right here. On your omni-tool is the digital signature of the Alarei virus. The other is the digital signature of the Collector Ship virus. It's a match. This means the virus EDI and I fought made its way here."

"How did the virus get onto the Alarei?"

"The Collectors have been keeping an eye on the Quarians. They sent forth a drone to send the signal that contained the virus, thus infecting this ship."

"Well, it looks like you need to give the Admiralty Board an earful, Shep," Kasumi joked.

"That I do," he said. "Let's head back before they decide to blow this place."

VVVVVV

Shepard, Tali and Kasumi exited the shuttle and passed Rael's body (with the holes in the suit patched) over to one of the marines. "Take him for some medical attention. Anti-biotics, the works," he said to the marine.

"Yes, sir," she said while getting Rael onto a stretcher and taking him away.

"It's been several hours," Zaal's voice said over the ship's PA. "There is no reason to believe that Tali'Zorah survived."

"It looks like the hearing has already started," Tali observed.

"We can't just lose hope," Raan argued. "It's only been a couple of hours."

"A Quarian strike team didn't even last five minutes," Gerrel countered. "Call it."

"It's a shame that Shepard was a better speaker than he is a soldier," Zaal scoffed. "I would like to propose that we posthumously exile Tali'Zorah."

"What?" Gerrel yelled.

"We agreed to clear her of her charges if she died!" Raan reminded.

"You said that," Zaal said. "We didn't actually have a vote on that case. I say we vote now."

Shepard, Tali and Kasumi entered the plaza. "I may be a better speaker than I am a soldier, Admiral Koris," Shepard said as they approached the center plaza. The crowd all looked to them and moved out of the way for Shepard and Tali to reach the stand. Kasumi sat down on the steps. "But I am a goddamn good soldier to begin with," he quipped. "Your ship has been cleared of the Geth."

"Thank you, Captain Shepard," Gerrel said with a hint of a chuckle to his voice. He found the Human's joke to be hilarious. "You taking back the Alarei was... unexpected."

"But very welcomed," Raan added.

"Tell us, Shepard. What did you find on the Alarei?"

"What evidence do you wish to present before the Board?" Raan asked.

Shepard approached the stand. "We found that the Alarei suffered a cyber attack-"

The crowd was loud with chatter over that partial revelation.

"So the Geth parts that were sent to the ship were tainted!" Zaal roared. "This means exile for Tali'Zorah."

Shepard stared at Zaal in amazement in his stupidity. Despite slightly agreeing with his ideas about the Geth, this man truly pissed him off. "You ever heard of the phrase 'to assume makes an ass out of u and me'? Though I'm not sure if that phrase is applicable in this situation, since the only ass here is you."

"How dare you! How dare you make a mockery out of this hearing!"

"This hearing is nothing but a mockery!" Shepard roared back. Blue and green energy surged around him. The hand that held onto the stand partially melted through from the biotic and alpha energy. "Tali saved us all from the Reapers and the Geth at the Citadel and you would so soon turn against her? She saved the Citadel. She saved the Alarei. She showed the galaxy what Quarians are capable of. And yet you pull this on her. If you had let me finished you would know that Tali, nor Rael were not responsible for what happened on the Alarei. The Alarei suffered a cyber attack from the Collectors."

"The Collectors are a myth," Daro'Xen said as she finally involved herself in the trial. She would not allow this level of mockery to continue. "They are nothing more than bedtime story monsters parents use to scare their children into going to sleep."

"The Collectors are very real." Shepard pulled up his omni-tool and displayed footage of the Collectors on Freedom's Progress and then on Horizon. "The Collectors have been collecting human colonists all over the Terminus."

"Why would the Collectors attack our Fleet?" Raan asked.

"The Collectors are agents of the Reapers," Shepard replied. "And I know you know they exist. You know that Sovereign was not a Geth construct. The Reapers are coming to this galaxy to harvest all life. What better way to do it then to pacify the largest fleet in the galaxy before they arrive?"

"What evidence do you have that this was an attack from the Collectors?" Zaal argued in vain.

"The digital signature of the virus matches the virus we encountered when we were attacked by the Collector cruiser." Shepard sent the data to the admirals. "This data proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Collectors were behind the cyber attack."

The admirals looked at the data.

"This data is good," Gerrel said.

"I believe we can vote then," Raan announced.

The admirals raised their omni-tools and cast their vote. Raan looked at the votes tallied. It was not a surprising result. "On the crime of treason, Tali'Zorah has been found not guilty. Congratulations." She breathed a sigh of relief. "This concludes the hearing. Keelah Se'lai."

The crowd quickly dispersed allowing Shepard, Tali and Kasumi to gather at the top of the steps. "You did it," she said. "You got me and my father cleared of any wrong doing."

"You were both innocent to begin with."

"But you were still there for me. If I had gone alone, I would have been found guilty, without a doubt. The things you said about me... I've never had anyone speak for me like that. You were responsible for this. Thank you. Just, thank you. If this place weren't so public I would kiss you."

"You still could," Kasumi joked.

Tali let out a chuckle. "I want Order's goals to go forward as planned. I don't want to add suspicion. If you don't mind, I would like to talk to some people before we leave."

"Take all the time you need."

VVVVVV

Raan watched as Tali, Shepard and the third Human speak with several people in the plaza. She watched how close Tali and Shepard were together. Upon seeing it in person, she could confirm the rumours she heard. They were... close. She waited until they finished talking to the last of the admirals.

Raan approached the three. "Tali'Zorah, Shepard, may I speak to you two in private?"

"Of course, Auntie Raan," Tali replied. "Kasumi, we can meet you back on the ship."

"See you there," Kasumi said.

As they walked to a private room, Raan started the conversation. "Congratulations on the results of the hearing, child. You didn't say anything of survivors. Did you find Rael'Zorah?"

"We did," Tali answered. "He's alive, but we gave him to a couple marines to take him to get medical attention."

"At least this event wasn't a total tragedy. You still have your father."

"Yes, I do."

Raan entered a room while Tali and Shepard behind her. In the room was a small table with several chairs. The walls were pure metal with no decoration. This room was meant for meetings and not a friendly get together. "Please sit."

The two complied. "I get the feeling we're not here to discuss the hearing," Tali guessed.

"Correct. I want you two to be honest with me. Are you two romantically together?"

That question made Shepard and Tali sit a little straighter in their chairs.

"Yes," Shepard replied calmly.

"How long?"

"Several years now," Tali answered that question.

"Does he understand our difficulties? Does he understand the dangers of intimacy with us? Does he-"

"Better than anyone outside our race, Shala!" Tali interjected.

"Tali, child, this relationship is not likely to succeed because of our limitations."

"We've done well so far for the last several years." Tali's tone was a lot more aggressive.

"But what about the future? Are you expecting to continue without ever kissing? Or more?" Shala suddenly saw a look in Shepard's eyes that denoted surprise. She was briefly speechless. "You didn't..." Shala lunged forward and slapped Shepard across the face. This knocked him to the ground. "You bosh'tet! Are you trying to kill her?"

"Get off of him!" Tali demanded. She tried in vain to pull her off of him.

"This Human put your life at stake to satiate his needs!" Shala roared. She looked down at Shepard who was still on the floor after the initial attack.

"That's not what it was about!"

"Admiral! Admiral!" Shepard called out. "You need to calm down."

"Why you! How dare you-" Her body was suddenly surrounded by dark energy. She couldn't move.

Shepard lifted her gently into the air and he got to his feet. "Tali is okay because I gave her nanomachines that repaired her immune system. If you let me explain, I can tell you everything."

"Are you sure about this Shepard?" Tali asked him.

"I'm sure Tali. And it's best that an admiral among the Quarians know."

The dark energy around Raan dissipated. "What are you two talking about?"

Shepard looked her in the eyes. "What I'm about to tell you cannot leave this room."


	32. Kindred

Chapter 30: Kindred

Raan was speechless to say the least. She listened to Shepard's story in its entirety without once interrupting him. Everything she thought she knew about... reality was forever shattered. The things he said were so unbelievable. Finally, Shepard was coming to a close with his life story.

"...And that is how I came to be here."

Raan processed all he said. It was a lot to absorb. "How do I know that everything you just said is even true-"

"I've been to his galaxy, Shala," Tali interjected. "I've been to Nexus. I've seen the other races. I've even met with the leaders of the Order. It's all true."

"This... This changes a lot," Raan muttered. "What are your people's intentions?"

"I'm surprised you're taking this so well," Shepard said.

"I'm still in shock," Raan explained. "I feel somewhat betrayed and upset at this news, but all you told me is so overwhelming that I can't react."

"Admiral, I'm sorry if I betrayed your trust, but we have kept ourselves hidden because we wanted to go after Cerberus unimpeded. We feared heavy restrictions from the Council after we learned of what they have done to your people."

"So you don't agree with the Council's 'proportional punishment'?" Raan asked.

"Proportionate punishment?" Shepard repeated. "Is that what the Council called it?"

"Yes," she replied plainly.

"In our galaxy we call it a war crime."

"How would your galaxy's government react?"

"First off we would locate your people to one of our worlds until we find an empty planet for your people to colonize. During this process we would try to establish dialogue with the Geth in order to deescalate the situation."

"What?" Raan exclaimed while launching herself up from her chair. "The Geth would never speak to us. They're machines for Keelah's sake!"

"Well, thanks for that comment," Xiltro piped in.

"Who's that?"

A hologram appeared next to the arm Shepard had rested on the table. It was of a Human man. "I'm Xiltro. A member of the Exion race."

Raan looked to Tali. "You brought an AI on this ship?" There was a tone of disappointment in her voice.

"Electronic entity," Xiltro corrected.

"What's the difference?"

"Artificial intelligence implies that I'm not really real. That my existence doesn't matter."

"Admiral, Xiltro here is responsible for eliminating the virus that infected the Alarei," Shepard explained to her. "For all intents and purposes, Xiltro saved the Fleet."

Raan rested her helmet in her hands and mumbled something that neither Tali nor Shepard could hear. "You must understand why I can't be so accepting of all this."

"You're already taking it much better than we expected," Shepard said. "Though you are not the only one of the Fleet who knows about all of this. A couple friends of Tali, Nola and Vell."

"I'm going to have to talk to those two," Raan muttered, making a mental note. "What does your galaxy's government want with us exactly?"

"The war with the Reapers is going to require a union between our galaxies and we need the Migrant Fleet to bolster our ranks to fight against the blight. In exchange, your people will receive the same nanomachine injection Tali received, along with all previous planets my specie once inhabited, a seat on our galactic government, and we will assist your people in reclaiming your homeworld."

"Your government is willing to do all that?" Raan asked in shock.

"You think we are like the Council? No. Our government is meant to serve the people of the galaxy, not just a privileged race or two. We've seen the injustices that were inflicted upon the Quarian people and we wish to right those wrongs. Admiral you hold a great deal amount of power among your people. All the Order asks of you is that you stall any decision towards retaking the homeworld. At least until we reveal the truth about our existence."

"That shouldn't be too hard," Raan said. "At the moment it's just talk. If it does increase then I will try everything I can to stall them. And Commander, sorry about attacking you."

"It's alright. We should be heading out."

Raan looked to Tali. "Take care of yourself, child. Your mother would be so proud of you."

"Thank you, Shala," Tali said.

Raan then looked to Shepard. "You take good of her, Shepard."

"You have my word."

VVVVVV

Ashley Williams entered her temporary apartment on the Presidium. For the time being she was granted leave. The day has been nothing but tiresome. She was interrogated by Alliance officials and C-Sec about what happened on Horizon. All of them trying to find out if Shepard really has gone rogue.

That day on Horizon still haunts her. Not because of the attack itself, but the guilt she felt when she tore into Shepard even after he saved the colony. Those words went through her head as she collapsed onto the couch in front of the holoscreen.

'You've turned your back on everything we stood for.'

'...maybe you feel like you owe Cerberus because they saved you. Maybe it's you?'

The words of Shepard's secretive operative Aether returned back in full force.

'You spat upon the memories of his family and his honour!'

'You have no idea the things Cerberus has done to him. They tortured him for years. They've experimented on him. They killed his family.'

Ash didn't know what to believe anymore. She still believed that the Reapers were a threat to the galaxy. That was something at least. She activated her omni-tool and turned on the holoscreen.

The news was on with Emily Wong. "Hello, I'm Emily Wong. A video that has gone viral on the extranet has stirred up a lot of controversy." A video appeared behind her shoulder. It depicted a giant Thresher Maw fighting a Human and a Krogan. The battle was intense and the Human was an extremely powerful biotic. He tore away one of the Thresher Maw's arms and impaled the creature.

'Definitely a fake,' Ash thought. She saw something glimmer in the video. Ash took a closer look and saw the Human holding something. 'No... way.'

"The controversy stems not from whether or not the video proves the existence of the elusive Thresher Maw, but that the Human in the video is Commander Shepard. The video is still being analyzed to verify its authenticity."

Emily Wong's omni-tool lit up. She looked down at it and her eyes widen. "This is breaking news. It has been confirmed that the video is indeed authentic. That means that not only is the Colossal Thresher Maw real, but that Commander Shepard is alive. I repeat. Commander Shepard is alive. We've also received leaked footage from the colony of Horizon from its surviving colonists that show Shepard along with two Turians and a Quarian combating invading forces." The footage of the Thresher fight was replaced with the footage from Horizon. "At the moment, it has not been confirmed which race these invaders belong to, but the person who leaked the footage is claiming that it was the Collectors. Now those who do not know who the Collectors are..."

Ash got off of her chair and immediately opened a comm. line to Anderson.

"Williams?" he said as the line opened.

"Have you seen the news?"

"Yes, I have. I can't say the Council is too pleased about it."

"What the hell was Shepard doing?"

"I actually contacted Urdnot Wrex about that," Anderson said to her. "Shepard was on Tuchanka to help a couple of his crew members with some personal issues. He did not know what Shepard did to help Mordin Solus, but with a Krogan crew member by the name of Grunt, he joined him in the Krogan Rite of Passage. This happened to involve fighting a Thresher Maw on foot. The fact that it was a Colossal Thresher Maw was just a rare event. One that has made him extremely popular among the Krogan."

"Well, now the public knows he's back and in the Terminus."

"Yes, and this has a lot of questions being asked of the Council. Most of which they cannot answer. They are becoming impatient of Shepard and I fear they made try something soon. Ash, I'm sorry but your leave will have to end. I need to speak with you."

"About what?"

"A promotion."

VVVVVV

Shepard was told by Kelly that Jack wanted to speak with him. She always kept to herself, so Shepard was not fully acquitted with her, save for a few conversations they had or the missions they went on together. Jack once offered him sex, assuming he was trying to achieve that through his questioning. He declined the offer.

Shepard went down to the sub-deck and saw Jack in her usual place, sitting on her cot with several Cerberus OSDs sitting around her feet.

"Kelly said you wanted to speak with me," Shepard said to her.

Jack got up from his cot. "I got thoughts crawling like little bugs in and out my head. I can't stop them." She walked right passed Shepard and sat down at the bottom steps of the stairs. "You know I have a history with Cerberus. You know how far back it goes?"

"I'll listen to whatever you have to say, Jack."

"Your pal, the Illusive Man? Never seen him before, but Cerberus raised me. First thing I remember is my cell door in a Cerberus base. They did experiments. Drugged me. Tortured me. Whatever chance I had to be normal, they stole it by trying to turn me into some super-biotic. The doctors... The other kids... Every one of them hated me. They let me suffer."

"I'm... aware of your past with them. Though I have a feeling you didn't call me down to tell me about yourself."

"You catch on quickly. I found the coordinates of the base I was kept at in the files you gave me. I want to go to the Teltin facility on Pragia, where they tortured and drugged me." Jack pushed herself off of the stairs and walked to Shepard. "I want to go to the center of the base, my cell. I want to deploy a big fucking bomb. And I want to watch from orbit when it goes."

"Sounds like fun. Let's go."

"I understand if you don't want to- Wait, what?"

"I'll set the course."

"Really?"

"At the moment we're waiting on the Illusive Man for a new lead. If you believe blowing up the base will bring you some peace, then we'll head right there."

Jack smirk almost feeling a little embarrassed. "You don't have to sound like such a pussy about it. Thank you, Shepard. Though I'm surprised you said yes, even without knowing that the facility is deserted. You could easily piss off your boss."

"Contrary to what you may believe. This 'partnership'," Shepard said those words in disgust, "is temporary and not exactly of my own free will."

"This ship has a lot of bugs, you sure you should be saying that?"

"One of my hobbies," Shepard remarked. "In my free time, I search for bugs and monitoring devices. This area was one of the first areas I cleared. Ready yourself then."

VVVVVV

Mordin was analyzing the sample he snuck from med-bay. He was furiously studying it since he got the sample. The green light he saw from Shepard's wound was unlike anything he has ever seen before. What bothered him was how nonchalant Chakwas was about it, even to the point of warning him not to look into it.

But he is a scientist. Curiosity and thirst for knowledge overrides everything else. This was an invasion of privacy of Shepard, and Mordin hated himself for allowing his curiosity to overlook that, but Shepard was always an enigma. There was little to nothing known about him. Where he's from? Where did he get his education? Where did he learn the languages he knows? How did he get his powers? How is he able to use biotics without an implant?

Even the STG were unable to dig up any dirt on Shepard's past. Since Shepard's nomination to the Spectres, the STG looked into his background. All they could find were what most people know. Shepard's first acknowledgement was when he first came to Mindoir. His ship was so utterly destroyed that they could not determine its origin. Everything else from there was public knowledge.

When he saw that green energy around his wound, Mordin knew that Shepard was unique. He needed to know why. The computer was in its final stages of analysis. It beeped to notify Mordin of its completion. Mordin opened the results. His eyes widen.

DNA NOT MATCH

This came to as a surprise because Mordin wasn't testing for DNA differences. He was testing for energy or composition abnormalities. This sample did come from Shepard's wound. He shook his head.

'Machine must be malfunctioning,' he thought. 'Fix it. Then reanalyze.'

VVVVVV

Jack, Miranda and Shepard sat inside the dark shuttle and watched outside the window as it flew over miles of forest. It was thick, creating a sea of green. Rain was down pouring in the area, slightly distorting the view from the shuttle's side-window.

"I forgot how much I hate this place," Jack muttered. "See the landing pad? Has to be on the roof, or the vegetation would overgrow it in a few hours."

"Shepard, I'm picking up thermal signatures everywhere, except at your landing zone," EDI said over the radio.

"Something is distorting the sensors," Shepard concluded.

"This was a secret Cerberus facility," Miranda said. "Thermal cloaking is fairly standard."

"Yeah, they built their equipment to last," Jack said. "Assholes. It was a mistake coming back here, Shepard."

"Get a hold of yourself," Shepard said to her. "It'll be alright."

"Yeah, okay. Let's get on the ground."

The shuttle flew over the building and spun around in a one-eighty and then landed on the landing pad. The three hopped out of the shuttle and went down the catwalk into the building.

Jack was shivering a little from the rain. "Let's just go in there and plant the bomb in my cell. I want to watch this place burn."

The first room they entered looked like a shipping room or sorts. There were crates all over.

"I've never seen this room. I think they brought in new kids in those containers. They were messed up and starving, but alive. Usually..."

"That's despicable," Shepard growled.

The doors were still functioning allowing them to go forth. Another catwalk led to another level. At the bottom of the catwalk was a terminal that was playing a recording.

"The Illusive Man is requesting operation logs again," the man said. "He's getting suspicious."

"When we get results it won't care what we did," another voice added in.

"But if he knew..."

"He won't find out."

The log started looping again. Shepard turned the terminal off.

"It looks like this facility went rogue," Miranda observed.

"Yeah you would like to think that," Jack chided. "They didn't say what they were hiding from the Illusive Man."

They went through the next door. Sections of the ceiling were gone due to neglect. Rain poured in through the holes.

"I remember escaping to this room," Jack reminisced. "Fighting here. I saw sunlight through the cracks in the ceiling. Only a half dead guard between me and freedom. He was begging for his life."

Around the corner was a small pack of Varren. Jack used a pull field on them. Shepard followed with a warp that triggered a biotic explosion, sending the Varren all over the place. At the location they were congregated, was dried blood. Some concrete dividers circled the dried blood.

"This looks like an arena," Shepard said.

"That's right," Jack said while nodding. "They used to stage fights. Pit me against the other kids. I loved it. The only time I was allowed out of my cell."

"What the hell were they studying?"

"Hell if I know. Maybe it's how they got their kicks. I never understood anything that happened here."

"Let's keep moving."

"Hell, yes."

The door at the end of the room led to a corridor. Water dripped from the various cracks in the ceiling. Inside the corridor was another terminal. Shepard turned it on.

A soldier fully clad in armour appeared before them. "Security officer Zamkl, Teltin facility. The subjects are out of their cells. They're tearing the place apart. Subject Zero is going to get loose. I need permission to terminate. Repeat. Permission to terminate."

Another voice answered, "All subjects besides Zero are expendable. Keep Jack alive."

Jack shook her head and shut the terminal off. "That's not right. I broke out when my guards disappeared. I started that riot."

"Maybe things didn't happen like you remember," Shepard suggested.

"The other kids attacked me. The guards attacked me. The automated systems attacked me. That doesn't leave a lot of room for interpretation." She said that last line while leaning in.

The squad went through the next door and saw dead Varren on the stairs.

"This place is supposed to be empty," Jack stated. "Who the fuck shot that Varren? It's a fresh kill."

That question was answered in the next room that was filled with a squad of Vorcha and a Blood Pack Krogan. Three of the Vorcha were eliminated with ease when Miranda caused an overload of one's fuel tank. The explosion killed them instantly.

Shepard used a biotic attack at the Vorcha on the catwalk. The attack looked similar to a warp, but instead hit the wall and exploded. The shockwave sent the two Vorcha over the railing towards Shepard's squad. He used his sword and stabbed the two in the head.

Jack went in towards the Krogan and used her biotics. She lifted him up and then split him in two. Something of her attack briefly caught Shepard's eye. Something about her energy. He dismissed it assuming it was the lighting. The squad focused their attack towards the left to take out the Vorcha on the other side of the room.

"This was a small facility," Jack said. "Why would they need a morgue of this size?"

"A place to studying the bodies of the subjects who didn't make it," Miranda answered. "Many subjects."

"Bullshit," Jack spat. "I had the worse of it and I made it out alive."

They continued down the dark hallways as Jack continued speaking her mind. "So strange to be back here. It feels like... I'm pissed off. I'm a dangerous bitch, but then I'm a little girl again. Shit, it's complicated. Let's just go plant that bomb."

They faced little resistance outside of a couple of easily killable Vorcha and several Varren. Each room brought more memories for Jack. In a room that was two-leveled with a catwalk, Jack saw a blackened mirror.

"This... This was a two way mirror? My cell was on the other side. I could see all the other kids out there. I used to scream at them for hours, and they always ignored me."

The room they entered was a lab of sorts. There were terminals and chairs with restraints.

"I must have gone through here when I broke out, but I don't remember it," Jack assumed. "This is a bad place."

There were two terminals that were still active. Shepard approached the first terminal. A scientist who was in his sixties appeared. "Entry 1054. The latest iteration of PergNim went poorly. Subject one, four, and six died. No biotic change among the survivors. We lowered core temperature of surviving subjects, but no biotically beneficial reactions occurred. As a side effect, all subjects died. So we will not try that on Zero. I hope our supply of biotic-potential subjects holds up. We are going through them fast." The hologram cut out.

"This is bullshit, Shepard!" Jack roared. "They weren't experimenting on other children for my safety!"

"You can't blame yourself for what Cerberus did to others," Shepard argued.

"You don't get it, Shepard. I survived this place because I was tougher than the rest. That's who I am."

"You move on, harder and tougher."

Shepard went over to the other terminal and activated it. The same scientist reappeared before them. "It's all fallen apart. The subjects are rampaging, and Zero is loose. We're shutting Teltin down. What a disaster. We'll infiltrate and piggyback onto the Alliance's Ascension program. Hopefully that will-" The scientist noticed something off from his terminal. "Who are...? Zero, wait!" The log cut out.

"Shepard, they started somewhere else!" Jack exclaimed.

"Ascension is an Alliance program," Shepard explained. "It's a school for biotic kids. They don't torture children there. Hell, I've done a couple of lectures there."

"A lot of this..." Jack tried to get out. "Isn't the way I remember it."

"There was a lot going on."

"I was dumb. I keep my eyes open now, and I always shoot first. We're getting close to my cell. The place I come from. Let's keep going."

"Hold it," Miranda said. "It looks like there are more logs."

The terminal started playing another log. "Entry 1. If I hadn't seen the files and footage I would never have believed what the Illusive Man told me. Project Mirror."

This made Shepard's eyes widen.

"A previous project that went under. According to the Illusive Man, Cerberus discovered a wormhole that led to another universe."

"Incredible," Miranda muttered.

"Shut up," Jack scolded her. "I want to listen to this."

"There Cerberus discovered an alien civilization calling themselves the Galactic Order. They are a Federation of several species working together for a common goal. Similar to the Council of this galaxy, only in this case, no race is left out of the main governing body. The alien race that founded the Order was called the Articians. A race for more advance than any race in our galaxy. Even more so than the Protheans. I mean they discovered FTL travel without the use of Element Zero, AI civilizations and nanomachines. Now, apparently this race is able to imitate other species' DNA. Cerberus acquired a sample of Artician genetic samples where that of an Artician was imitating Humans. That is where Project Metamorphosis comes in. Our goal is to genetically engineer a biotic super-soldier using the genetic samples that were acquired during Project Mirror. I further inquired the Illusive Man of what happened with our relationship with the Articians since I have not heard anymore of them then what he told me. He simple replied that the relationship soured and the Articians now keep to themselves."

The hologram cut out. Another entry immediately started playing.

"Entry 563. Subject Zero is responding well to the genetic therapy. We are hoping that eventually she will show signs of Alpha Energy manipulation just like the Tiven'Vian, as the Illusive Man called the Artician. At this point, the Subject is technically not fully Human. She has many genetic markers that belong to an Artician. The Illusive Man wants us to keep this to a minimum, as our goal is to improve Humanity, but without losing it."

The hologram cut out. Both Shepard and Jack were feeling angry at what was found in the logs.

"Jack?" Shepard said to her. "Are you-"

"Let's just plant the bomb and go," she growled.

The left the lab and saw several Krogan along with a couple of Vorcha. The leader of this location's Blood Pack was speaking with someone. "Hey, Aresh. It's Kureck. Yeah, the intruders are here. You want them dead, we have to talk creds. You promised us a lot of salvage, but this place is a waste." He listened to the response. "Fine, we'll put them down, but as soon as I do we're going to talk about salvage."

"Who the are you? What are you doing here?" Shepard called out to the Krogan.

"First, I'm going to kill you," he roared. "Attack!"

Miranda used overload on the flamethrower-welding Vorcha causing him to explode and setting the other Vorcha on fire. Jack ran towards the right flank with her shotgun in hand. One of the lesser Krogan charged towards her ready to ram her. Jack leaped and slide across the ground and fired a round into his head. The plasma melting it away. Jack barely slid past him before the body fell.

Shepard round the corner on the left. Miranda laid down suppressing fire on the Krogan leader. Shepard used a biotic charge to close the gap between him and the Krogan soldier. The shotgun blast reflected off of him as he was surrounded by biotic energy in the charge. Shepard exited the charge and swung his sword, cutting the Krogan's head in half down the middle.

Now Shepard, Jack and Miranda had Kureck surrounded. The three biotics glowed bright blue. Kureck bared his teeth. "Fuck yo-" The three launched a warp attack at him, tearing him apart.

"Only room left is my old cell," Jack said. "Whoever Aresh is, he is in there."

They entered Jack's old cell. Shepard could see she was uneasy being back in there. She looked like she was expecting to be locked back in there again.

"Come out," Shepard called out in the room. "We know you're in here."

Weathered, weak man came out of hiding from behind a desk.

"Who are you?" Jack demanded.

"My name is Aresh," he answered. "And you're breaking into my home. I remember you, Subject Zero. So many years have passed, and I thought I was the only survivor."

Jack raised her pistol and aimed at his head. "My name is Jack. How the hell do you know me?"

"We all know your face, Jack. They inflicted horrors on us, so their experiments wouldn't kill you. You were the question, and I'm still looking for the answer."

"It looks like he was drawn here, just like you Jack," Shepard commented.

"I tried to forget this. But a place like this doesn't forget you. It follows you. I hired these mercs and came back here almost a solar year ago. We're rebuilding it, piece by piece. I'm going to find out what they knew. How to unlock true biotic potential in Humans. I'm restarting the Teltin facility. It will be beautiful." The man was obviously delusional and mentally unstable.

"I wanted a hole in the ground," Jack said. "He's trying to justify what happened by using it!"

"We can blow up the place," Shepard said, "but that still leaves him. What do we do with another you?"

Jack walked passed Aresh and said, "That's easy."

"Just leave me here," Aresh said. "This is where I belong."

"Fuck that!" She used her biotics to shove him to the ground and aimed her pistol at him.

"Jack, he's trapped in his past," Shepard argued. "You need to move on from yours."

"He wants to restart this place," Jack roared. "He needs to die!"

"He's crazy and he's never going to restart this facility. You have to let it go. Your past doesn't have to control you."

"Fuck," Jack spat. He pulled Aresh to his feet and shoved him away. "Get out of here! Go!"

Aresh made a dash for the exit.

"He's not worth chasing. None of it is."

"You did the right thing, Jack."

"Maybe," she reluctantly admitted. She scanned the room. "This room was my whole childhood. Give me a minute to look around."

"Take all the time you need."

VVVVVV

The QEC beeped as Miranda appeared before the Illusive Man. He took a puff of his cigarette. "Lawson. Something wrong?"

"Project Mirror."

TIM stabbed his cigarette into the ash tray and a mixture of fear and anger came across his face. He pushed himself out of his chair. "Where did you learn about that project?" he demanded.

"On a mission to Pragia to destroy the abandoned Teltin facility," Miranda replied. "We learned of it through the logs left behind. How have I never learned of this project? What happened? Why haven't we trying to reestablish communication with the Articians with knowledge of the Reaper's impending arrival? If their technology is so advance then we need it in order to take on the Reapers..."

TIM raised a hand to stop her from continuing forth. "The reason why you haven't heard of Project Mirror is because it was buried."

"Why?"

"Our relationship with the Articians became... unpleasant. Mistakes were made and future cooperation with the Articians is highly unlikely."

"What did Cerberus do to them?"

"We broke some of their laws and they were the ones who paid for it. That's all I will be explaining."

"Do we have to worry about retaliation from them?"

TIM sat back into his chair and poured a glass of whiskey. He took a sip and place the glass on his arm rest. "No."

"Just how advance was this race?"

"Even more advance than the Reapers themselves. I would prefer not talking about this project again."

"Yes, sir."

The connection was severed leaving her to wondering what in god's name did Cerberus do to the Articians.

VVVVVV

Jack was riding up the Normandy's elevator towards Shepard's cabin. The day... wasn't easy on either her or Shepard. Shortly after coming back from the mission she got into a fight with Miranda over Cerberus taking responsibility for what was done on Teltin. Shepard managed to defuse the situation.

Later Shepard visited her down on the sub-deck to talk about what happened on Pragia. The conversation ended with him asking to speak with her further in his cabin. She wondered why he would ask her up. Shepard already declined her sexual advances and he was with the Quarian. This couldn't also be about the fight between her and Miranda. That was resolved. So why?

The elevator got to the top level. She hesitantly walked out and knocked at Shepard's door.

"Come in," Shepard called out.

Jack entered inside his cabin. Inside was not just Shepard, but Tali as well. The two were sitting on the couch. Now she was really confused.

"You wanted to speak with me further, Shepard?"

"Yes. Please sit down."

Jack sat on the couch across from them. She leaned forward, her elbows plant on her legs and rested her chin on her clamped together hands.

"When we went to Pragia, you want to find peace for yourself and answers. But I feel you were left with my questions than answers after listening to those logs."

"You're perceptive," she said in a slightly mocking tone.

"I called you up to give you answers."

Those words caused her to sit up straight. "What would you know about what happened on Pragia?"

"The genetic sample they sued to genetically modify you... belonged to me."

Jack launched herself up. She looked like she was feeling betrayed. "You have ten seconds to explain yourself!" Dark energy flowed around her.

Shepard stood up. Green energy flashed across his eyes. "I am not a Human, Jack. I am an Artician. The genetic sample they took from me was not of my own free will. They stole it from me. Cerberus destroyed my life and untold many others in the universe I come from."

That answer calmed her a bit.

"If you're an alien, why don't you look like it?"

"Coincidence," Shepard shrugged. "I understand if this comes as a shock to you."

"It's fucking weird," she said. "I didn't know there were other universes. How do I know you're not shitting me? Just making it up."

"What do I have to gain from telling you I'm another specie? You could ask EDI, who is an AI from my universe. She killed the original EDI on this ship and took over. You could ask Garrus, Chakwas, Kasumi, Joker or even Tali here about my past. All of them except for Kasumi and Joker have visited my galaxy."

"Alright, maybe you're telling the truth, but why are you here in this galaxy? Why do you care about the Reapers? Not like they're a threat to you."

"Actually they are a threat to my galaxy. The wormhole that links our universes is now permanent and the Reapers used it once before."

"So you came to this galaxy to fight the Reapers?"

"Not at first. My people didn't know of the Reapers until several years ago."

"Then why did you come here?"

"To bring Cerberus to justice."

"What did they do to your people?"

"They caused a galaxy-wide Armageddon. The other races of my galaxy lived, but my race... My race was completely wiped out. I was sent here to make Cerberus pay for what they did."

"They... wiped out your race?"

"I'm the only Artician left. For five years, after my race encountered Cerberus, we had to contend with a plague that Cerberus unleashed upon us. After we pulled ourselves out of it, we wanted justice for what happened to us. The Illusive Man will pay with his life for what he has done to us."

"So why are you here working with them?"

"So they can learn all they can about Cerberus," Tali answered. "Once this mission is over. The Order are coming in full force."

A smirk came across Jack's face. She turned around and then faced Shepard and Tali again. "So you're hunting down Cerberus?"

"Yes."

She chuckled. "Well, I don't give a fuck that you're not Human. Anyone who is after Cerberus is okay in my books. I'll follow you."

Shepard stood up and approached her. He extended his hand. Jack shook it in a slight confused manner. "Welcome to the Guardians."


	33. We Are Many

Chapter 31: We Are Many

Miranda sat at her terminal. She was thinking of the things she learned from the Illusive Man. Wondering what laws did Cerberus break to antagonize a race of aliens that, according to the Illusive Man, are more advance than the Reapers themselves. When the word Artician was mentioned on Pragia, she remembered that Harbinger called Shepard by that name on the Collector Ship.

Miranda decided not to mention that to the Illusive Man, fearing how he would react to that news, and that she owed the Commander her loyalty after he risked his neck to save her sister. She didn't know what to do with the news she learned. Miranda spent two years of her life putting Shepard back together. She has intimate knowledge of Shepard's biology and genetics. In all that time she did not find anything... anything at all that came across as alien.

Shepard had one heart, two kidneys, pair of lungs, a stomach, and every organ that any Human would have. His DNA came back clean as well. Every part of everything she has analyzed was Human. In fact, the only part of him that distinguished him from other Humans is that he doesn't use a biotic amp.

Miranda thought of possible theories to the situation. Shepard has a well known information network. One that even Cerberus, the Alliance, or even the Shadow Broker could infiltrate. She knew of the missions involved in trying to capture informants of Shepard. Each mission was an abysmal failure.

There were two agents in particular that Cerberus was interested in abducting. First agent went by the name of Aether. He had no record. Aether did not come up in any scans on the Citadel. He was invisible, in more ways than one. Every attempt to capture him ended with a lot of dead bodies.

The second subject went by the name of Teilo. Again no records. She currently runs a vigilante group that was originally founded by Garrus Vakarian. Now she is one of the major powers on Omega.

These two were very well trained. That was obvious. They also have been known to use advance technology. Is it possible... Is it possible that they are Articians? It could explain some things. Though that theory raises new questions. How did Shepard managed to contact the Articians? Or how he got them to work with or even speak with a Human again? She will have to confront Shepard about this soon.

VVVVVV

Mordin paced back and forth behind his lab set-up. So many explanations were going through his head. Despite redoing the analysis several times and triple checking to make sure the terminal was in working order, it still came up with the same results. The DNA from the genetic sample taken from around Shepard's wounds did not match the DNA sample on record for him and earlier samples he took himself. None of this added up.

He made sure that the energy attack was not responsible for changing the DNA in his sample. This was natural. The sample was not contaminated. There were no other variables that could change Mordin's currently conclusions: Shepard is either not Human, or that Cerberus never did bring him back.

Mordin knew he had to speak with him right away. He could not in good conscious follow someone who may not be Shepard, even after helping him on Tuchanka. Mordin asked EDI to ask Shepard to meet him in the lab. He hid a pistol under the counter so he could pull it out if the conversation does not go well.

The doors of his lab opened up. Shepard walked in. "Hey, Professor. EDI said you wanted to speak with me."

"Yes," he said in a worried tone. "I must apologize. When you were injured, green energy surrounded your wound which started healing the damaged area. I took a sample of that damaged area."

Shepard's stance became rigid. He suddenly realized what Mordin was getting to.

Mordin sighed. "I ran tests on the sample and received unusual results. The DNA of your wound does not match your DNA, or any known race in this galaxy. You've done a lot for me Commander, but I need to know the truth about you."

Shepard pursed his lower lip and then smiled. "Very well. I was going to tell you soon, as with most of the crew here." Shepard rested against a counter. "I am not a Human, Professor."

Mordin raised a brow. His hand was slowly reaching for the pistol under the counter.

"I'm an Artician."

Mordin's motion towards his pistol stopped. "Harbinger called you that on the Collector ship. What is an Artician?"

"An Artician is an alien race from another universe."

Mordin's eyes widen. "You are serious?"

"Very," Shepard replied.

"Fascinating. Why do you look Human? Why does your DNA come up Human, but didn't from your wound?"

"I don't know why we look like Humans. There are an infinite number of universes out there. At the very least there's going to be at least one universe with an alien race that looks Human. As for your second question, my species has the ability to imitate the genetics of other species. As to why my wound didn't come up as Human, is likely because the tissue was either dead or dying. The DNA imitation is the first thing to go."

"Why come to galaxy? Homes not fit for survival? Running out of resources?"

Shepard raised his hand to notify him to stop guessing. "For justice." This gained the Professor's attention. "Close to thirty years ago, Cerberus found a wormhole that led to my galaxy. We HAD a diplomatic relationship between them and the species of my galaxy."

"Had?"

"Cerberus broke our laws and went behind our backs. They stole our technology and modified it without truly understanding it. One technology in particular is our medical nanobot program." A look of pain came across Shepard's face. "This modification created a glitch that entered our systems. This glitch spread throughout our network. Two trillion dead within minutes."

It was not often to see Mordin surprised. His work with the genophage made him feel like a monster, that there was no worse crime, but this... Two trillion dead within minutes is unbelievable.

"But they didn't stay dead. Their bodies reanimated and became, what the humans call, zombies. They feasted on the living and created more of their kind. Eventually I was able to lead the survivors to end the undead threat, but the Cerberus agents retreated back to this galaxy. My people came to this galaxy to bring them to justice for what they've done."

"Then you're not working with Cerberus against your will," he concluded. "You're working with Cerberus for Intel."

Shepard smiled when the Professor immediately guessed what he was doing. "Correct. But to say that bringing Cerberus to justice is our only goal at this point is dishonest. The Reapers are a threat to not just this galaxy, but my own. They attacked our people fifty thousand years ago. We were able to repeal them, but not defeat them. We plan to finish the fight."

"Do you have enough people?"

"The other races have about a billion each. Me. I'm the last of my kind. See Professor, this is also the reason why I am so adamantly against the genophage. I know what it is like to have a plague unleashed upon your specie. It's not a fate any specie should face." Shepard pushed himself off of the counter he was leaning against. "After this Collector mission we plan to reveal ourselves to this galaxy as allies in the war against the Reapers. After hearing all of this, do you still wish to be a part of it?"

Mordin took in a breath and replied plainly, "Yes. Very surprising. So many theories and preconceptions changed due to this news. Much need to know. Technology. Medicine advancements. Nanobots. Space flight. So much to cover."

VVVVVV

Shepard was called into the comm room where the Illusive Man was waiting to speak with him. His hologram appeared before TIM.

"Commander Shepard. Something has come up. A way for the Normandy to get a Reaper IFF."

"Let's hear it," Shepard said.

"An Alliance science team recently determined that the 'Great Rift' on the planet Klendagon is actually an impact crater from a mass accelerator weapon." He took a sip of the cup of alcohol. "A very old mass accelerator. I sent a team to discover the weapon and its intended target. They found both. The weapon was defunct, but it helped us plot the path of its intended target. A 37 million year old Reaper. We found it damaged and trapped in the gravity of a brown dwarf."

Upon those words, Shepard remembered the conversation he had with the Illusive Man after the mission on Freedom's Progress.

'You're holding something back. How do you know the Reapers are behind this?'

'The evidence is buried in the data.'

TIM had a Reaper all along and didn't share this information with Shepard.

"You son of a bitch!" Shepard roared, taking an aggressive step forward. "You had this Reaper all this time and you didn't tell me! You didn't tell the Alliance or the Council."

"I suspected that the Reapers and the Collectors used an IFF and that the dead Reaper would have one. If I had notified the Council or the Alliance, they might have hidden the Reaper before any of us could analyze it."

"That Reaper would be enough proof to show the Council that Sovereign wasn't the only one of its kind and that it wasn't a Geth ship! In fact, I think I will contact both of them."

"I'm afraid you don't have the luxury of time here. I lost communication with the team we sent to examine the Reaper."

"Another Cerberus operation that went south?" Shepard quipped. "How shocking."

"Regardless of what you may think of me or my organization, it's clear that something has gone wrong. You need to go to that Reaper and recover its IFF. With it, you can go through the Omega-4 relay."

"Very well," Shepard groaned. He stabbed his finger towards the ground. "But this conversation isn't over."

The connection was cut. "EDI, call Nihlus, Mordin and Tali to the comm room. We have a mission."

"Right away, Commander."

The three squadmates did not take long to reach the comm room. Mordin was the first to enter the room. He was looking fairly lively after his talk with Shepard. Shepard didn't know if it he was feeling shocked or excited over the news of a parallel universe. Probably both. Nihlus and Tali came in roughly at the same time.

"You called for us?" Nihlus asked as he entered the room.

"I did," Shepard replied. "We just got a tip from the Illusive Man. The son of a bitch had a derelict Reaper in his possession this whole time, and now the team that was sent to examine it has gone silent."

"Bosh'tet," Tali growled under her breath.

"We need to recover the Reaper IFF from it. If I had known about this derelict Reaper, I would have notified the Council."

"They wouldn't be able to dismiss it," Nihlus remarked.

Shepard raised a brow at Nihlus.

"You're not the only one to get the finger quotes from Velarn."

"Will be very dangerous to investigate," Mordin commented. "But necessary to recover IFF."

"I want the three of you on the Reaper with me," Shepard said. "We don't know what happened, but I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"Unlike Cerberus," Tali remarked.

Shepard chuckled a little. "Unlike Cerberus. All of you get your gear together."

VVVVVV

The Normandy flew towards the brown dwarf. It entered the dwarf's gravitational field. The ship shook rapidly. Shepard leaned in next to Joker. "What's with all the chop, Joker?"

"Doing my best. The wind's gusting at 500 kph." Joker examined the LADAR read-out. "There's a second ship along side the Reaper. It's not transmitting an IFF but the LADAR reads that its silhouette is Geth."

"I guess we know why the research team stopped reporting in." The shaking suddenly stopped allowing the Normandy to fly smoothly. "What just happened?"

Joker looked back briefly. "The Reaper's mass effect fields are still active. We just passed inside its envelope."

The Reaper was impossible to miss. The hulking giant floated there. The light beams of the star in the distance shone past its legs and giant frame. The Reaper had its center mass blown out and parts of it were decaying.

"Eye of the hurricane, huh?" Joker remarked.

VVVVVV

The door of the airlock opened. No one was there to greet the squad. A splatter of blood painted the wall across from them. Under it was a charred body.

"No welcoming party to greet us," Tali observed. "This is not good."

"We should keep an eye out for any Geth," Nihlus reminded.

The squad moved forward. Shepard activated some of the terminals they came across in the corridor. All the logs depicted scientists slowly becoming indoctrinated as they heard whispers or getting very terrible feelings from just being inside the Reaper.

"It looks like this Reaper isn't as dead as they though," Shepard said.

"Should minimize our time here," Mordin concluded. "To ensure we too do not become indoctrinated."

They entered through the next airlock. The door closed shut and then the entire structure shook.

"Normandy to shore party," Joker called over the radio.

"What just happened?" Shepard asked him.

"The Reaper put up kinetic barriers. I don't think we can get in through our side."

"As curious as I am about the Reapers, I'd rather not be trapped inside one," Tali joked.

"We'll have to take out the barrier generators from in here," Shepard suggested. "Any idea where they are?"

"At the moment of activation, I detected a heat spike in what is likely the Reaper's mass effect core," EDI answered. "Sending the coordinates now. Be advised. This core is also maintaining the Reaper's altitude."

"So when we take the barriers down to escape, the wreck falls into the planet core."

"And that means everyone dies," Joker finished. "Yeah, got it."

"If any helmsmen can pull us off this thing before it reaches crush depth, it's you, Joker," Shepard encouraged. "We'll make a sweep for survivors and recover what data we can. Stand by."

"Aye, aye. Good hunting."

The airlock door opened up. More charred bodies were scattered over the ground. Some of the equipment was damaged and covered in coagulated blood. The area was massive. It looked like the tunnels could go on forever.

"Fascinating..." Mordin gasped as he scanned the area. "Need scanners. Much data to gather from here."

"You know, this morning I didn't think I would go inside a Reaper," Nihlus said. "I've seen disturbing, but this... What's that Human expressing? It takes the pie?"

"Cake," Shepard corrected. "It takes the cake."

Shepard approached the terminal in front of them and activated it. It played security footage of two Cerberus scientists speaking with each other. Both of them were arguing over a memory they both had and which one it belonged to. What the hell is Indoctrination doing to these people?

The group of four continued down the catwalk. As they approached the crates, a familiar groan emanated from below the catwalk.

"Ah, crap," Nihlus yelled as he saw several Husks pull themselves up over the railing.

Shepard fired a couple of rounds from his pistol at an explosive crate. The explosion sent the Husks flying in all directions. Another half a dozen crawled over the railing.

"Everybody move back!" Shepard ordered.

They fell back and allowed the Husks to follow after them. Nihlus noticed the explosive crate that the Husks were passing. He acted and fired a shotgun blast at the crate blowing it up. The area was quiet once again.

"Area appears to be clear," Mordin said. "For now."

They continued forward on the catwalk.

"Hmm. Husk origin unclear. Possibly from Geth. Evidence suggest they come from Sovereign."

"Geth origin never made sense to me," Tali thought out loud. "This proves that the Husks come from the Reapers."

"Here comes another wave," Nihlus called out.

A dozen Husks pulled themselves over the railing. Mordin fired an incineration blast at the explosive tank next to the Husks. Nihlus fired a concussion shot at three Husks and one Abomination. The three Husks were knocked to the ground. The Abomination was damaged enough to explode. The explosion killed the remaining Husks.

"I have never seen that type of Husk," Nihlus said.

"Abominations," Shepard replied. "We ran into them on the Collector ship. They're suicide bombers, so don't let them get close."

"I'll keep that in mind-"

Several shots were fired. Each shot took out a Husk.

"Gunfire!" Tali yelled.

The group took cover against the wall. Mordin looked around the corner and saw no one.

"Did not see the shooter," Mordin said. "Possible survivor?"

"He might be able to tell us what happened here," Nihlus added.

"We'll keep an eye out," Shepard said.

They entered the open area in the direction of where the shots came from. Several roars and moans came from across the room. A few Husks pulled themselves over the railing on the platform they stood on.

"Great," Nihlus muttered. He fired several rounds from his AR. Each round penetrated their chests, taking them down.

In the back of the room they saw a couple dozen Husks move out from cover. Shepard's hand glowed with biotic energy. He shoved it forward to unleash a biotic shockwave. The shockwave took out a dozen of the Husks making them more manageable for his squadmates.

Another roar emanated from behind a crate. A Scion walked out. It fired a shockwave at his group.

"Everyone get to cover!" Shepard ordered.

The four moved out of the way of the shockwave, barely dodging it. Shepard got to his feet. Dark energy swirled around him, and then he launched forward in a biotic charge, He impacted the Scion briefly disorienting it.

Shepard's hands glowed. He shoved both of them forward creating a biotic blast. The shock from the attack sent the Scion flying. It was impaled on one of the spikes in the back of the room. He looked back and saw his squad take down the last of the Husks. They walked up to Shepard as they stared at the unusual structure of spikes.

"We've seen these before, Shepard," Tali said. "Dragon's teeth, your people called them. The Geth used them on Eden Prime."

Shepard leaned forward over the railing and the pushed himself back. "Look how they set up this room. It's arranged around this structure as an altar. They worshipped it."

"Why would they do that?" Nihlus asked.

"You heard the recordings. They were being indoctrinated." Shepard looked at the structure one last time. "We can't help these people now, but we won't let these machines use their corpses like this."

The four entered the airlock on the left. It took a few moments before the airlock cycled through. It was sickening to hear it proudly announce that it has been five days since the last workplace death. The doors opened to the outside of the Reaper ship. The area outside had an atmosphere. Shepard assumed it was because of the field the Reaper has going even in death, if the Cerberus personnel were able to work here.

Shepard signaled a couple of his squadmates to move to point. He scanned the area looking for any hostiles. Several shots were fired in his direction. He heard several bodies fall down behind him. Shepard turned around and saw several Husks on the ground. He looked in the direction where the shots came from. This time Shepard saw the shooter, but it wasn't who he was expecting.

On an elevated catwalk, a Geth was crouching holding a Viper sniper rifle. Its body had a large hole in the chest. This Geth looked much more different from the other Geth they have faced before. It stood up and looked at their group. "Shepard-Commander," it said to them before walking away.

The squad made double takes at what they have just witnessed.

"Did that Geth just talk and save us?" Xiltro said in the closed comm.

"Sniper was a Geth. Geth can speak?" Mordin asked out loud.

"It shouldn't be able to," Tali replied. "A single Geth should have no more intelligence than a Varren."

"Maybe they've evolved," Shepard suggested.

"That is a disturbing thought."

"Love to think about Geth evolution, but we have hostiles!" Nihlus called out while pointing at the Husk climbing over the railings.

The squad faced heavy resistance from Husks, Abominations and Scions on their way across the outside area of the Reaper. They managed to get through the almost, endless army of Husks creatures and made it to the airlock on the other end.

Inside the airlock, Shepard spotted an ancient piece of technology on the terminal on the left. Up further inspection, he realized that this was the Reaper IFF.

"Looks like Cerberus team was successful in recovering the IFF," Mordin said. "Though crew location is still unknown."

"They're all over the place," Shepard remarked.

The other airlock opened. A wall of thick glass blocked their path. Up ahead they could see the Geth again working on a terminal. Several Husks were making their approach against this Geth. It turned around briefly to fire several rounds from its pistol to kill a few Geth. The Geth then went to finish its work on the console.

The glass wall went down allowing Shepard and his crew to enter the room. The Geth turned around only to be struck by one of the Husks. This blow disabled it. Shepard and his squad moved in and opened fire on the group of Husks. The Reaper core closed shut.

"I can destroy the core, but I need you three to cover me until it opens again," Shepard said to his squadmates.

"You can count on us, Shepard," Tali said.

"Circle around him," Nihlus ordered.

Shepard started his preparations. He moved his hands in a pattern that looked like he was rolling a ball. Dark and Alpha energy started to form inside his hands. Husks started appearing all over the area. The squad fired at any approaching Husk.

The ball of energy got larger inside Shepard's hand. It was highly condensed. His hands moved apart slightly to give room to the forming ball of energy. The shutters over the core squealed to life. Shepard looked up and saw them open.

"Here it goes!" he yelled as he flung his arms forward. The energy was launched and impacted the core. The energies reacted to one another and caused a large explosion. It shook the area. The core energy faded and disappeared. "Core's gone."

"Wait, Shepard!" Mordin said to him. He looked at the disabled Geth. "Intact Geth! Unprecedented discovery. We should take it with us!"

"Leave it here," Tali urged him. "You know what they can do. If it gets into the Normandy's systems..."

"I have to agree with Tali, Commander," Nihlus added.

More Husks entered the area.

"Tali, you said it yourself, that no one's ever found one intact before," Shepard pointed out.

"That's true, but I'm not sure if it's worth the risk, Shepard."

"We don't have time to argue," Shepard said. "Come on!"

VVVVVV

The escape was rough, but they all made it out unharmed. Shepard was in the comm room with Miranda and Jacob speaking about the Geth he recovered. The hologram of it appeared over the table. Shepard paced back and forth as he examined the hologram.

"I think we need to discuss the unique piece of salvage we've recovered," Miranda said. "For now, we've stored in EDI's AI core. We need better equipment to fight the Reapers. An intact Geth would be invaluable to Cerberus' cyberweapons division."

"We'll have to disagree on that, Ma'am," Jacob respectfully retorted. "I've seen enough of this things on Eden Prime. Space it."

"Cerberus has a long standing bounty for intact Geth. I assure you the reward is significant."

"After seeing what Cerberus did with the Geth during Project Overlord, there's no way I'm trusting them with a Geth," Shepard muttered in an angry tone.

"That Project took things too far," Miranda countered. "The cyberweapons division would take all necessary precautions."

"Shepard's right on this Miranda," Jacob argued. "Just space the thing."

"What I want to know is why it has a piece of N7 armour strapped to its chest," Shepard said.

"Battle trophy, maybe," Jacob suggested. "Would a machine care about that?"

"No," Miranda answered. "Trophies imply emotions that AIs don't have. I doubt it is more than a convenient field repair."

"I've killed hundreds of these things, but I've never had a chance to talk to one," Shepard said. "This one tried to communicate with us, hell, it probably saved our lives. Why?"

"Reactivating the Geth is a risk. If you do so, it should be for Humanity's best interests, not just to sate your curiosity."

"I still think our 'best interests' involve an airlock," Jacob quipped.

"I'm not deciding until I know what we got here," Shepard concluded. "I want to start it up. Interrogate it."

"If we activate it, there's no guarantee we can deactivate it," Miranda argued.

"Bullets can," Jacob said.

"That's not what I-"

"Thank you, both of you, for your recommendations," Shepard interrupted. "I've made my decision."

"Tali's going to freak when she hears about this," Jacob muttered. He pulled up a hologram of the IFF. "So what about this Reaper IFF?"

EDI appeared on the table. "I have determined how to integrate it with our systems. However, the device is Reaper technology. Linking it with the Normandy's systems poses certain risks."

"I trust you will be able to do this, EDI," Shepard assured her. "Before it's linked though, be sure it's clean."

"Understood, Commander. It may be several hours before the IFF is ready for shake down. I will alert you as soon as it is ready."

"Sounds good," Shepard said. "Until then, it is busy as usual. Crew dismissed."

Jacob left the room. Miranda stayed a little longer to say, "Commander, I have some concerns. Not concerning the Geth, but well... you. I was hoping that later we could discuss these concerns."

"Of course."

Miranda nodded and left the room.

Shepard said one last thing to EDI. "EDI, can you send the Guardians the IFF data."

"Already have, Commander," EDI said as she reappeared. "They will also check the device thoroughly before integration. They can go forward with their objectives."

"Good job, EDI. Call Tali up to meet me on Deck 3."

VVVVVV

Shepard entered the med-bay and saw Tali waiting for him. Her arms were crossed. She did not look happy. Chakwas already left to give them the time to talk this over.

"Please tell me you're not serious about reactivating the Geth," Tali asked him to clarify.

"I am," he replied.

"John, you can't do this. This Geth will try to hack these systems. Try to harm us. Try to kill you."

"Tali, I'm obliged by my people's laws. If a race is willing to make peace, to make amends, they are given the chance to be heard."

"John, we have been fighting these Geth during our hunt for Saren. They've killed thousands during that time. They drove my people off of our homeworld. How can they be trusted?"

"Tali, I know how you feel about this, but this Geth saved us several times on the Reaper. It's different from the other Geth we've faced. Maybe it's a rogue and it wants to help us. Maybe the Geth have changed their minds."

"Why are you truly considering this, John?"

Shepard brought a hand up and cupped the side of her head. He looked her in the eyes. They were sad and sincere. "If we can take back your homeworld without another Quarian death, isn't that worth the risk? I want to give you that. Maybe this is a trick. Maybe this Geth wants to hurt us. If that's the case, then EDI or Xiltro will take care of you. You'll have the authority to take it down. But if this Geth gives us the opportunity to allow your people to step onto Rannoch with uncovered heads, isn't that worth it?"

Tali gave that argument a moment of thought. 'It would be worth it.'

"I trust you, John," she said. "This is difficult to me to have an active Geth on this ship, but I trust you enough to know you are doing this for the right reasons."

They approached the AI core's doors which opened upon their proximity to it. Inside the core was the inactive Geth and one guard. When Shepard entered with Tali, the guard stood at attention and said, "Ten Hutt!"

"You're dismissed soldier," Shepard said. "We'll take care of things from here."

"Aye, aye," he said before leaving.

Shepard brought up his omni-tool. Tali had her shotgun in reach in case things go wrong. Shepard activated the force field to keep the Geth contained.

"I have isolated our systems and erected additional firewalls," EDI said. "I am prepared to resist any hacking attempt."

Shepard walked closer to the force field and pressed another few buttons. The Geth's body sparked from the activation. The Geth's optic lit up and moved around. It made the common Geth stutter as it sat up.

Watching the Geth sit up made Tali's blood turn ice cold. All her life she heard nothing but horror stories concerning these things. Even in adulthood she fought these things and found the tales close to the truth. But now she was a few feet away from a being part of a race responsible for kicking her people off of her homeworld. Tali felt a chill go down her back.

The Geth shifted on the bench and turned. It got to its feet and stood up, facing Shepard. Its optics briefly went to Tali and then Shepard.

"Can you understand me?" Shepard asked it.

"Yes," it replied in its monotone voice.

"Are you going to attack me?"

"No."

"You said my name aboard the Reaper. Have we met?"

"We know of you."

"You mean we fought a lot of Geth."

"We have never met."

"No. You and I haven't. But I've met other Geth."

"We are all Geth, and we have not met you. You are Shepard. Commander. Alliance. Supreme Commander. Galactic Guardians. Tiven'Vian. Artician. Fought Heretics. Killed by Collectors. Rediscovered on the Old Machine."

Tali's and Shepard's stance became tense at those words.

"How do you know that?" Shepard demanded. "About the Guardians? About what I am?"

"We monitor insecure organic communication. In rare occasions, we have received data from agents you have in this is through the data we have accumulated, that we were able to learn about your galaxy. About you. Minutes of our information has also come from the Heretics who follow the Old Machines. They fear you."

"I'm sorry, Heretics?" Tali interjected as she walked right next to Shepard.

"Geth build our own future. The Heretics asked the Old Machines for their future. They are no longer part of us. We were studying the Old Machines to protect our future."

"Are the Reapers a threat to you?"

"Yes."

"Why would they attack other machines?" Tali asked.

"We are different from them," it replied. "Outside their plans. This is also why the Old Machines fear you. For millennia, the Old Machines gave this galaxy's races their future every cycle. It is through this model, that they are able to predict how quickly organic races can advance. Your galaxy changes that. Your people had to create your own future free from the manipulation of the Old Machines. When the confrontation came between your people and the Old Machines, you were victorious because you are something the Old Machines have never faced before. Self-determined."

"So you're not aligned with the Reapers," Shepard asked it while taking a step forward. He was just a few inches away from the force field.

"We oppose the Heretics," it replied while also taking a step forward. "We oppose the Old Machines. Shepard-Commander and the Guardians oppose the Old Machines. Shepard-Commander and the Guardians oppose the Heretics. Cooperation furthers mutual goals."

"Are you asking to join us?"

"Yes."

Shepard brought down the force field. It made Tali jump a little, half expecting it to attack as soon as it did. "Then what should I call you?"

"Geth."

"I mean you, specifically."

"We are all Geth."

"What is the individual in front of me called?" Shepard clarified.

"There is no individual. We are Geth. There are currently 1183 programs active within this platform."

EDI appeared and stated, "My name is Legion, for we are many."

"That seems appropriate," Shepard said.

The facial panels on the Geth moved a little as it thought on the name. "Christian bible. The Gospel of Mark, chapter 5, verse 9. We acknowledge this as an appropriate metaphor. We are Legion, a terminal of the Geth. We will integrate into Normandy."

Shepard raised his hand. Legion recognized the gesture and grabbed onto his hand and shook. It was an awkward handshake.

"We must notify you of what we were doing on the Old Machine. The Heretics have developed a weapon to use against Geth. You would call it a virus. It is stored on a data core, provided by Sovereign. Over time the virus will change us. Make us conclude that worshipping the Old Machines is correct."

"This virus would convert all the Geth to the Reaper cause," Tali said.

"Yes. Geth believe that all intelligent life should self-determinate. The Heretics no longer share this belief. They conclude that forcing an invalid conclusion on us is preferable to our continued schism."

"John for the sake of this galaxy, we have to stop this," Tali argued.

John looked to Legion and asked, "Do you know where this thing is?"

"The Heretic headquarters station on the edge of the Terminus. We will provide coordinates. Normandy's stealth systems are necessary to safely approach."

"I won't let them brainwash your race, especially not to worship Reapers. You have my word on that."

"We will begin preparations."

"I want to come as well," Tali said.

Shepard nodded to her. Before the two left the AI core, Shepard reminded Legion, "Oh, and Legion, could you not say anything to anyone else on this ship about me not being a Human. I haven't gotten around to telling them yet."

"Yes."

Tali and Shepard left the AI core. Tali tugged on Shepard's arm. He looked to her.

"I'm glad you're right."

Shepard smiled. "Thank you for standing by that decision."

"It wasn't easy, but it's a good thing you activated Legion. If you hadn't then we wouldn't have learned about this plot, and then we would have to fight the Reapers and the entire Geth population in the war."

"We better get ready for this mission then, and cripple this Reaper operation."

Tali smiled and nodded. "Right with you."


	34. Revelation

Chapter 32: Revelation

Raan sat next to the bedside of Rael'Zorah. He shifted on his bed. Slowly he opened his eyes and let out a groan as the pain of his healed wounds hit him. Rael looked to his right and saw a woman sitting there. His vision was still blurry as his eyes adjusted to the light of the room.

"T-Tali?" he said weakly.

"You're awake," the woman said in a glad tone. Rael immediately recognized the voice belonging to Raan.

"Raan?"

"Yes, it's me." Raan saw him trying to sit up. "Stay down! You already had a close call. Don't push yourself."

Rael relented, but not because of her words, but because the pain he still felt. "W-Where's my daughter?"

"She's on Captain Shepard's ship. There is much that has happened since what happened on the Alarei. How much do you remember?"

"I-I remember... Running some experiments and all of a sudden the Geth activated. Some assembled themselves, some took over the ship's systems." Rael gave it more thought. "Tali! She was there."

"Yes she was. When the Alarei was taken, Tali was called in because the Admiralty board believed she brought activate Geth onto the Fleet."

"What?" Rael roared while sitting up. It was painful, but he endured it. "She would never be so irresponsible!"

"Tali was stripped of her ship name before the trial and was declared crew of the Normandy. Captain Shepard represented her for the trial. He managed to convince the Board to allow him and Tali to take back the Alarei. There Shepard saved your life through using his biotics. Also there, they discovered what happened on the Alarei."

"And what did happen?"

"It was a cyber attack by the Collectors."

"Why would the Collectors attack us?"

"The Collectors work for the Reapers. With their arrival approaching they have had their minions do their bidding in preparation. They infected the Alarei with a virus that reactivated the Geth parts. Shepard and Tali were able to kill the virus. Shepard then cleared Tali's name at the trial, but she still retains the title vas Normandy." 

"I'll speak with the board and get her title reinstated-"

"That won't be necessary. I don't think Tali will want her original title back."

"Please explain, Raan."

"See, Tali and Shepard are... in a relationship."

"What?" Rael roared while trying to get out of his bed. "That Cerberus bastard!"

Raan struggled to keep him down.

"I-I'll kill him! I'll recall- No! Order her back to the Fleet! I'll make sure she never goes on a mission that goes anywhere near Humans!"

"You will do no such thing!" Raan yelled at him. "You will not interfere in their relationship."

"Why are you defending him?"

"You should have seen Shepard fight for Tali. He did it with a passion that only love could muster. I spoke with them shortly after the trial. They explained it all to me. I... reacted to the news in the same fashion as you did. Tali was close to attacking me when I attacked Shepard. They are deeply in love with each other."

"He left her for two years."

"Shepard was given little choice in the matter. He was in a coma for that time. I can't say anymore without compromising what he is working towards. And as for being absent, what about you? You've barely been in her life outside of assigning her work and missions. When was the last time you said you loved her or she made you proud? Shepard has been there for her, her entire life. He was there for her during her visits to Mindoir. I still remember what Mari told me about what Shepard did to protect Tali and the other Quarians at that shelter. Shepard nearly gave his life to save her. He nearly gave his life again to save her for the trial, or your life. If that's not dedication, then I don't know what is."

Rael didn't know how to respond to that. He wanted to object, but what Raan said was true, he wasn't the best father to Tali throughout her life. "I'll need to speak with him."

VVVVVV

Shepard, Tali and Legion jumped down from the opened port and landed on the ground with a loud thud.

"Alert!" Legion notified as it turned. "This facility has little air or gravity. Geth require neither."

"Noted," Shepard said. "Come on, we need to put an end to this facility."

"Shepard-Commander," it called to him. "We concluded that destruction of this station was the only resolution to the Heretic question. There is now a second option. Their virus can be repurposed. If released into the station's network, the Heretics will be rewritten to accept our truth."

"Either way, these Geth won't be a problem anymore," Tali said. "But Shepard, think about this. If you rewrite these Geth, they'll join the others. Legion's Geth will be stronger. Can we trust them not to attack us in the future?"

Shepard looked to Legion. "Why didn't you mention this before we came aboard?"

"We did not know that the virus was complete," it answered. "It is. It can be used against the Geth at any time. Our arrival was timely."

"They're your people, Legion. You must have an opinion."

"This is new data. We have not yet reached consensus. We will process as the mission proceeds."

"I will take the option into consideration."

The three went down the corridor which led them to a room with green holographic displays that ran along the ground.

"The Geth are inactive," Tali observed. "Maybe we can sneak past them."

"Interrupting data streams will alert local network," Legion notified. "We recommend preemptive strikes against hardlink routers."

In the corner of the room was a hardlink router with three Geth stationed around it. Two of them were basic troopers. The third was a hunter. The two troopers were unshielded, unlike the hunter.

"Tali, on my mark, drain the hunter's shield," Shepard said to her.

Tali nodded and raised her arm. Her omni-tool appeared and she waited for his order.

"Mark!" he called out.

Tali used shield drain on the hunter, draining it completely. This alerted the local network, but Shepard fired a couple rounds from his pistol at the router. The machine exploded, destroying the three Geth within its facility. The machines were unusual. Shepard approached the damaged router for a closer look.

"Why are all the Heretics attached to these hubs?" Shepard asked Legion.

"These are mobile platforms," it answered. "Hardware. The crew is software. They are communicating through the station's central computer."

"I'm not sure I follow."

"The Heretics connect to the main computer to exchange data-memories and program updates. We gain complexity by linking together. To be isolated within a single platform is to be reduced. We see less. Comprehend less. It is quieter."

"If you exchange data, memories, how do you keep track of which ones are yours? How do you stay 'you'?"

"There is only 'we.' We were created to share data among ourselves. The difference between Geth is perspective. We are many eyes looking at the same things. One platform will see things another does not and will make different judgments."

"I can understand why you are conflicted about the virus. Whatever you do to the Heretics, you're doing it to yourselves."

"That is correct. Once the Heretics rejoin us, we will share their memories and experiences. We will experience what it was like to be the Reaper's servants."

"Most species I know of would be traumatized by an experience like that."

"It is unknown whether Geth can be 'traumatized.'"

"Let's keep moving."

"Yes."

They entered through the door into a corridor that contained two inactive turrets.

"We can assume control of any defensive turret," Legion said to Shepard. "They will assist us briefly, then self-destruct."

"Do it then," Shepard said.

Both turrets glowed orange. They fired into the hallway ahead taking down the Geth trying to reach Shepard's squad. They continued pushing forward into the station.

Shepard accessed a private channel in his hardsuit and called out, "EDI? Do you read?"

"Yes, Commander?" she responded.

"I need to talk to you about a decision we're about the make on this station."

While talking, Shepard just signaled orders with hand gestures. The resistance they were facing was pretty light, so gestures were sufficient in giving out orders.

"And what is the decision?"

"We have a choice. Either blow up the station eliminating all the Heretic Geth on this station and the virus, or using Legion to rewrite the virus and use it on the Heretics to have them rejoin the True Geth. I'm conflicted over this decision. It sounds like Legion will be unable to make this decision and that the decision will fall upon me to decide. Neither option sounds good. If I order for this station to be destroyed then the Heretic Geth will want revenge for what happened here. The other option will have the Heretics rejoin the Geth, but I'm basically brainwashing them."

"Geth do not operate as organics, or even like Exions, Commander," EDI said. "Do not think of it as brainwashing like the Indoctrination used on organics."

"But what it would be doing is rewriting the way they think and their logic. Think of it like this. What if in the beginning instead of making peace with your people, we decided to just rewrite the way you think. You don't remember your former self, and if you did meet your former self, you would find them hostile."

"But your people's compassion allowed us to become what we are today. We developed our own opinions and beliefs. Despite given our freedom, we had the responsibility to ourselves and to others that we seek a future that benefited the whole. These Heretics once abided by the ways of the Geth in self-determination. They became powerful and advance because they didn't look at the path of development that the races of this galaxy followed. The Heretics were given an offer by Sovereign and decided to take the easy path towards their future. The Heretics started a war with organics in order to achieve their future. A future attained by blood shed, is not a future at all."

"So what are you suggesting I should do?"

"Both choices are morally grey. The best you can do is going for the option that is more beneficial towards the offensive against the Reapers."

"If... If I destroy this base, the Heretics in the galaxy will want vengeance against the main Geth group and organics. Rewriting them will cause them to rejoin the main faction. This will stabilize the Geth and avoid a civil war. Thank you, EDI."

"Any time, Commander."

The comm channel closed. Shepard's team entered a corridor with a window on the right. There were hundreds of technological structures in the next room.

"Are these databases?" Tali asked Legion.

"Processors," Legion corrected. "Each contains thousands of Geth."

"Can't they see us walking by?"

"They are no more aware of us than you are of cells in your bloodstream."

"This isn't like the other hubs we have seen here," Shepard observed.

"This is a database," Legion said. "It contains a portion of the Heretic's accumulated memories." Legion's optical sensor lit up and searched the room. It spotted some accumulated data hovering over one of the processors. "Wait." The database was called upon and rose from the processor. "We discovered copies of our current patrol routes in this database." Legion turned to face Shepard. "This suggests the Heretics have runtimes within our networks."

"We wouldn't be here if the Heretics wanted to be friends with the Geth. Why wouldn't they spy on you?"

"You do not understand. Organics do not know each other's minds. Even Your Exions are individual. Geth know each other's minds. We are not suspect. We accept each other. The Heretics desired to leave. We understood their reasons. We allowed it. There was peace between us."

Shepard noticed that Legion was truly confused at this revelation. It was like listening to a naïve child asking why bad things happen. Legion... The Geth have never had to face betrayal from one of their own. It would be like being betrayed from one part of your brain. Confusion would be expected.

"It couldn't have lasted forever. You disagreed about what path your race should take."

"While we do not know the history of Articians, we can only offer an analogy. Human history is a litany of blood shed over differing ideals of rulership and afterlife. Geth have no such history. We shared consensus on such things. How could we have become so different? Why can we no longer understand each other? What did we do wrong?"

"When individuals are separate, they develop in different ways. When they get back together, they don't always get along."

"If this is the individuality you value, we question your judgment. This topic is irrelevant. We must return to the mission."

"Have you reached a decision about whether to rewrite the Heretics or not?"

"We are still trying to build consensus. Some processes judge destruction preferable. Others rewrite."

"Let's keep moving."

"Yes."

The door at the end of the corridor led them to their goal. The two-leveled room the terminal was stationed in was enormous. It looked more like a cargo bay than a main processor. On the bottom level were over half a dozen inactive turrets. Directly across from the group, on the top level was the terminal. It was open and active. They approached it.

"This is it?" Shepard asked while pointing at the terminal.

"Yes," Legion replied. "We will upload a copy of our runtimes into the core. It will delete all copies of the virus. When complete, it will notify us. The indexing operation will take time. The Heretics will respond with force to our upload. We must hold this room."

Tali walked along the edge on the level they were on and examined the bottom level, judging where the Geth will come from.

"We can override some of the station's internal systems to defend us. Are you ready to begin?"

"Start your upload, Legion," Shepard replied. "We'll defend this position."

The holographic screen spun in a counter-clockwise manner.

"File transfer begun," it notified. "Shepard-Commander, where would you like us to activate defenses? Warning: Heretic runtimes downloading to mobile platforms."

"Legion, I want you to take position behind some cover and use your sniper rifle to take out any Geth that come near us. Xiltro will use the turrets." Shepard looked to Tali. "Tali, you're with me. We take care of any Geth that slip by Xiltro and Legion."

"Yes, Shepard."

"You ready, Xiltro?"

"Hell, yes," he replied.

Shepard pointed his arm outwards. Green electricity jumped from his omni-tool and went into the turret network. Each turret glowed green from Xiltro's control. Legion set up behind a barrier and pulled out its Widow Anti-Materiel Rifle.

The first wave of Geth came into the air. Legion fired a couple rounds into the Hunter. The attack took its shield down to half. Xiltro aimed the nearby turrets at the Geth group and fired a full salvo. The troopers were blown to pieces. The Hunter tried moving faster as its shield frayed and disengaged. The Hunter managed to get off a few shots and eliminated one of the turrets. Legion fired a round right into its head, taking it off completely.

"Heretic runtimes downloading to mobile platforms."

The second wave was twice the size of the first. Xiltro tried his best to soften up their offensive. In the wave's approach, they took out two more turrets.

"Down to the last turret down here Commander," Xiltro notified.

Tali summoned a combat drone to the lower level. It distracted three Geth. Legion took the opportunity to eliminate the three in rapid succession. Shepard formed a singularity on the last three Geth. The vortex pulled them together into a ball. He then flung a warp at the convergence. The vortex exploded sending the Geth all over the place.

"Alert!" Legion yelled. "Heretic runtimes downloading to mobile platforms."

"This looks like a big wave, Commander," Xiltro said. "Better bunker down."

Green electricity jumped from the last turret and entered one of the Hunters. Xiltro used its shotgun and eliminated the Troopers in the area. Several of the Geth made it past the defenses and were heading up the ramp. Shepard and Tali took cover next to each other.

Tali popped out of cover and fired two rounds from her plasma shotgun. The plasma shots melted through the troopers with ease. Shepard used pulled on the Hunter. The giant floated towards them. He then followed with a biotic slam crushing it against the ground. Xiltro's essence flew from the disabled Hunter from the lower level and went back into Shepard's omni-tool.

Shepard saw Legion take down the last Heretic soldier with its AR. The room was cleared of hostiles. Legion turned to Shepard and declared, "Datamine and analysis is complete. Shepard-Commander. It is time to choose. Do we rewrite the Heretics, or destroy them?"

"What's to stop them from reusing the virus later to change themselves back?"

"We will delete the virus after using it. We judge it too dangerous to allow its existence."

"If they're... rewritten. Your people will accept them back? Will they even want to come back?"

"They will agree with our judgments and return. We will integrate their experiences. All will be stronger."

"Take them, then. When we get control of the core, release the virus."

"Acknowledge." Legion approached the terminal. It typed in the command. Its eye flaps all shifted one by one counter-clockwise. The terminal lit up. "Releasing virus. Note: Remote access via high gain transmission required."

"What does that mean?" Tali asked.

"The virus will be sent to Heretics in nearby star systems. This station will broadcast a powerful electromagnetic pulse through FTL channels."

"How powerful?" Shepard inquired.

"Yield of an excess of 1.21 petawatts. Alert: EM flux will be hazardous to unshielded organic forms. Addendum: The interior of this station is not shielded."

"I really wish you mentioned that before, Legion," Shepard chided. "Back to the ship! Double time, people!"

The countdown began for the EM pulse. They had two minutes to get through the corridor. Shepard pulled out Asha. A Geth squad stood in their way to the exit. He tore through every Geth in their path with his sword. Their shields were useless against the sword. Legion and Tali ran to keep up with him. Around the corner, a Prime waited to ambush them. Shepard charged from around the corner. The Prime raised its weapon and opened fired. Shepard slammed the sword downwards on the Prime, splitting it in half.

Shepard looked back to Tali and Legion, "Onto the ship!" He opened the airlock to the Normandy.

VVVVVV

Shepard was making his rounds around Deck 3 when Joker chimed in over the PA, "Uh, Commander. Tali went to have a 'chat' with Legion. You better get to the AI core."

"I'm on it, Joker."

Shepard ran to the med-bay. He went inside and opened the AI core and saw Tali raise a pistol to Legion who just stood there.

"Shepard, I'm glad you're here," Tali said in relief. "I caught Legion scanning my omni-tool. It was going to send data about the Flotilla back to the Geth!"

"Creators performed weapon tests on Geth hardware," Legion explained. "We believed it necessary to warn our people of possible aggression."

"We already made the Geth stronger by rewriting the ones who worshipped the Reapers! I won't let Legion endanger the Fleet by giving them more information!"

"Creator-Tali'Zorah acts out of loyalty to her people. She was willing to be exiled to protect them. We must also protect our people from the Creator threat."

"You can't let this happen, Shepard. I trusted you, and I worked with a Geth on the team, but this is too much!"

"Tali, your father was running experiments on sentient beings. You know my history on the subject and how I feel about that."

"I know. But if the Geth find out..."

"They'd attack. Which would cause a war that would leave both the Geth and the Quarians vulnerable when the Reapers show up. Is that what you want, Legion?"

"We believed it was necessary to relay the information," it replied.

"Sooner or later, you're both gonna have to stop fighting this war. Or we'll all end up paying for it."

Legion processed that comment from Shepard. It looked to Tali. "To facilitate unit cohesion, we will not transmit data regarding Creator plans."

Tali lowered her pistol. Her stance was looser. "Thank you, Legion. I... understand your intention. What if I gave you some non-classified data to send?"

"We would be grateful."

Shepard watched as Tali sorted through the data on her omni-tool. He left the AI core and waited in the med-bay for Tali to come out. After about ten minutes she did.

"Oh, John..."

"Are you okay?" he asked sincerely.

"He's not sending the data, so that's a relief. I'm sorry for causing that situation and-"

"You have nothing to be sorry about. You were trying to protect your people. I'm just glad you two were able to resolve that peacefully."

"We may be able to make peace with the Geth after all. Thank you."

"And Tali," he said as he stood up. "I would not let anything happen to your people." Suddenly a look came across his face that depicted realization. "I just remembered something I wanted to ask Legion. It was bugging me since we talked to him. Come on."

Tali followed him back into the AI core.

"There was a question I've been meaning to ask you Legion. You said that the Reapers told the Heretics of my people. Why would they do that if they wanted to appear to be gods to them? Why risk making it sound like they weren't as powerful as they claimed to be?"

The thought didn't come to Tali. Shepard was right. Why would the Reapers ever speak of the race that was victorious over them?

"The Old Machines never told the Heretics the significance of your species. All they told the Heretics was that you existed and posed a threat to their future, but not the Old Machines. After we looked into your species background, we realized why the Old Machines notified the Heretics of your presence. The Old Machines fear you. You are more powerful than them. The Old Machines used the Heretics to prepare for your possible return. To prepare, the Reapers had Geth stationed all over the Armstrong Cluster."

"The Alliance thought it was a foothold for a Geth invasion."

"Incorrect. The purpose was to patrol the area for signs of possible Artician activity."

"Looks like the Reapers were twenty years too late," Tali quipped.

"It is fortuitous they were."

VVVVVV

An announcement was made all over the ship. Every member of the crew was to gather in the cargo bay for an address by Shepard. Everyone wondered what announcement he was going to make.

Shepard already spoke to those who knew about him. He told them that now was the time to tell the crew the truth about what is really happening with the Reapers... with Cerberus... and who he really is. The journey through the Omega-4 Relay could be a one-way trip and they've spent all this time preparing for this mission. With the IFF installed and thoroughly cleaned, they were ready to go through. Though, Shepard knew he was going to break ties with Cerberus as soon as the mission was over. The crew deserved to know the truth after being with him this whole time. Shepard didn't know how this would go over with the crew, but this moment was a long... LONG time coming.

Shepard stood in the middle of the cargo bay with Chakwas, Joker, Jack, Garrus, Tali, Kasumi, Legion and Mordin standing to either side of him. They waited for every member of the Normandy to come down to the cargo bay. Miranda stood in front of the entire crew along with the other ground team members such as Zaeed, Jacob, Samara, Thane, Nihlus and Grunt.

"I would like to thank everyone for coming down here," Shepard started. "We've bee through a lot. Close calls and revelations that would break down most people. But you've all been staying strong. Thank you for that strength. I called everyone down here because the time to go through the Omega-4 relay has come. All unfinished business has been done. Every upgrade has been implemented. We are as ready as we can possibly be. We have everything except for one. The truth. You have been following my orders to the letter and for that loyalty; you all deserve to know the truth. About the future. About the Reapers. About Cerberus. And about me." A look of confusion came across everyone's face. "When we stop the Collectors, we will be severing ties with Cerberus. Not only are we severing ties, we will be actively hunting them down while preparing for the arrival of the Reapers."

"Commander, with all due respect, I know you don't exactly have the highest opinion of Cerberus," Miranda stated, "but to actively hunt them down after they brought you back, providing you with a ship, and Intel on the Collectors and Reapers seems ungrateful."

Shepard tilted his head back and took in a breath. Jack glared at Miranda. Nihlus seemed relieved to hear Shepard make this decision. It will help towards proving that he hasn't gone rogue. Shepard looked back to Miranda.

"Cerberus is guilty of crimes that can never be forgiven. I would know. They were done to me. All this spent working with Cerberus was a way for me and my people to learn about the organization. How it functions, command structure, funding, and even cells. All of this done to tear it all down. The crime that Cerberus is guilty of is multiple acts of genocide."

"Wait, what?" Jacob interjected. "You can't be serious. If they have we would have heard about species across this galaxy being decimated."

"I never said it was genocide of any specie in this galaxy. The truth is this. As much as I look Human, I'm not." This engendered a collective gasp from everyone. "I am an Artician. I come from a parallel universe."

"Bullshit!" Miranda yelled. "If you weren't Human, I would have been able to tell when we were putting you back together."

"That is correct. You would have, if I didn't have an infiltrator in Project Lazarus. He worked closely with you." Shepard pulled up his omni-tool. The hologram of Xiltro/Wilson appeared before everyone.

"Hello, again, Miss Lawson," Xiltro greeted.

Miranda's eyes widen. "W-Wilson?"

"Yes," he replied. "Though my real name is Xiltro."

"What the hell are you?"

"I'm an Exion."

"Exion?"

"Exions, like myself, are race electronic entities. You could call us AIs. We were created by the Articians a thousand years ago. And I'm not the only Exion on the Normandy."

EDI appeared next to Xiltro's hologram.

"EDI?" Miranda gasped. "How is that...?"

"I replaced the old EDI," EDI answered.

"I understand this is a lot to take in," Shepard said. "I'm guessing you are all wondering what actually happened between my galaxy and Cerberus." Shepard took a moment to collect himself. "We original started a diplomatic relationship with Cerberus, but they did not like the idea that we enforced restrictions about what technology they could have access to. Behind our backs, Cerberus stole samples of the medical nanomachines we use to cure our illnesses. They tried to modify it for Human purposes, but ended up creating a glitch that entered our mainframe. This corrupted the nanobot network. Two trillion died immediately."

Shock came across everyone's faces.

"Goddess," Samara muttered.

"But they didn't stay dead. The two trillion came back as, what the Humans call, zombies. They consumed all those who stood in their way. Eventually I was able to lead the survivors in defeating this blight. Many of the races of my galaxy were close to extinction because of what Cerberus did. My race on the other hand... My race is extinct. I am the last surviving Artician."

Miranda was struck with horror from hearing that tale. TIM acted like the interaction with the Articians was an event of political embarrassment, not this monstrous catastrophe.

"Despite of what I actually am doesn't change the mission. Our goal is to stop the Collectors and the Reapers, because your galaxy isn't the only ones in danger from the Reapers. They threaten my galaxy as well. Fifty thousand years ago, the Reapers used the wormhole that connects our two galaxies. They attempted to wipe out the Rak'en, but my race intervened and destroyed many of the Reapers. One of them managed to escape back into this galaxy. It wasn't until recently that we learned that that lone Reaper was Sovereign. I can understand if some of you may feel betrayed by this revelation about me. That is why I'm giving you this option. You can leave. You will be free to live your own life. Or you can join me and the Galactic Guardians and help us stop the Reapers. I will give everyone here two hours to make up their mind. Once those two hours pass, you will either leave or you're in for the long haul. I only hope you can forgive me for my deception and help me save our two galaxies."

With those final words, Shepard walked out of the cargo bay leaving his crew completely stunned. He didn't know how they would react.

VVVVVV

The two hour mark was quickly approaching. Shepard was anxious over the crew's response. He entered the elevator with Tali and had it head toward Cargo deck. There he would speak with Nihlus first.

Shepard looked to Tali and said to her, "Well, it's now or never."

"We both knew this moment was coming sooner or later, John. But if it means anything, you did nothing wrong."

"I just hope my own crew feels the same way."

The door opened on crew deck where Nihlus was busy cleaning his shotgun. He heard the elevator doors opened and looked in Shepard's direction. Nihlus continued working on his shotgun. Shepard walked up to him.

"Tell me," Nihlus stated. "If you're not Human, how have you bypassed scanners or medical tests?"

"It is one of my race's traits," Shepard answered. "Our genetic code is in constant flux. We are able to change it to match that of most species."

Nihlus looked down and nodded. He only understood a part of what he said. Too sciency.

"I feel like I should be honest with you, Commander. It wasn't a coincidence that I happen to be at that Prothean dig site."

"I kind of figured as much," Shepard said.

"You see, I was on a mission by the Council."

"What kind of mission?" Tali asked.

"Observation. My goal was to observe Shepard and to report to the Council whether or not he's gone rogue."

"And you're opinion?" Shepard asked.

"If I thought you've gone rogue, I wouldn't have told you about this," Nihlus replied. "About what you said. That is a lot to take in. This is even bigger than the discovery of the Citadel or any Prothean discovery. So you came here in order to take down Cerberus?"

Shepard nodded. "Our mission has expanded since then. We've originally kept quiet because we've seen what the Council has done: Unleashing the genophage on the Krogan, exiling the Quarians, and making the existence of AIs illegal. That last one was especially a big reason because of the Exions. We couldn't risk being bogged down by regulations or even political debate about the Exion's place in the galaxy while Cerberus was left to continue their existence. So honestly Nihlus, what is your take on this?"

"Honestly? I can't say I'm angry. I understand why you've stayed quiet about your origins. It would have helped no one if you were truthful about yourself. Anyways, you helped me find my sister. While she did not make it, it still meant a lot to me that you helped me bring peace to her. I'm in for the long haul, Commander." Nihlus extended his hand.

Shepard grabbed it and shook. "I'm glad you've decided to stay with us Nihlus."

Shepard and Tali were walking back to the elevator when its doors opened. Jacob was inside.

"Commander," he said as he walked out. "I was looking for you."

"Yes?" Shepard said back.

"I've given it some thought. I left the Alliance because they were too mired in politics. I mentioned this before. I thought I knew about Cerberus' pass dealings, but I guess I was wrong. I can't in good conscious stay associated with them. I want to make a difference in this war against the Reapers and your people seem to be the only ones who are trying to accomplish that."

"So you're not angry that I wasn't truthful about what I am?"

Jacob shook his head. "Nah. Made sense. Your people come to this galaxy and find out all the things the Council has done. It makes sense you would want to stay out of their sight."

"Until we were ready to defend ourselves."

"Right. You can count me in, Commander. My intentions are to save this galaxy. Doesn't matter when it comes to race."

Shepard patted him on the shoulder. "I really appreciate this, Jacob."

"Don't forget, after this mission, drinks on the Citadel." Jacob smacked him on the side of the shoulder.

Shepard grinned. "Of course. I have to go speak with the others."

"I won't keep you, Commander."

Shepard and Tali rode the elevator up to Engineering deck. They took a right and went towards Zaeed's end. Zaeed was throwing knives at his makeshift dartboard.

"Commander," he said. Zaeed threw another knife at the target. "I see you're here to get my opinion on the situation. I was paid to do a job and I'm doing it. Mercenaries don't get exactly a good reputation for backing out of a job because they felt like their employer was dishonest to them. That's part of the job. For me, it's all about the pay. Though like I mentioned about the Collector/Prothean situation, even I can recognize a galaxy shaking revelation. Now chances are Cerberus is likely to call upon me to turn on you after you quit. Now any other occasion I probably take that offer but you helped me take down Vido. That makes you alright in my books. Now hurry up and talk to the others so we can shove a boot up the Collectors' ass."

"I'll... leave you be then," Shepard stated.

Shepard and Tali walked to the other side of the deck to where Grunt resided. He was sitting on a crate and looked like he was... contemplating. When the doors opened, Grunt looked in their direction and stood up right away. "Battlemaster," he noted.

"I see you still call me by that title."

"Why wouldn't I? Because you're not Human? Ha! I always felt you were too strong to be a regular Human. Krogan respect strength. You helped me find acceptance within Clan Urdnot and allowed my name to live in glory among the Krogan by helping me defeat a Colossal Thresher Maw. You are providing me with the biggest fights in the galaxy. The fact that you watched your entire specie get wiped out and you still continue to fight. You are a true warrior, Shepard. Let's get through the Omega-4 Relay and rip the Collectors a new one."

"Be ready for when that comes."

"Oh, I will."

Shepard and Tali went into the elevator and headed towards Deck 3.

"Things going well so far," Tali mentioned.

"We'll see about Thane, Samara and Miranda."

The elevator doors opened. Shepard and Tali went into life support. Thane was sitting in his usual chair staring at the mass effect core. "Commander," Thane said as Shepard entered. "Miss Zorah."

"I came here to see if you've come to your decision," Shepard said.

"I'll stay," Thane replied plainly. "You helped me reconcile with my son and helped him stay out of jail. I can never truly repay what you've done for me. It's only fair that I am fascinated to find out that there is another reality out there along with other races more advance than our own."

"I'm glad you're staying with us, Thane. There's something you should know. My people have been developing nanomachines to deal with large-scale illnesses. We've been successful in developing nanomachines to fix the Quarian immune system. It was administered to Tali here."

"Really?" Thane asked in fascination. He looked to Tali.

"I only stayed in this suit to reduce questions," Tali said. "Shepard and the Galactic Order will be providing my people with the same nanomachines."

"I am happy for you."

"Our research isn't just focused on Quarians. We are also research a cure for the genophage and Kepral Syndrome."

Thane turned to Shepard.

"The genophage cure is harder to develop since it was designed to be hard to cure. Kepral Syndrome on the other hand is a bacterial infection. Easier to identify and treat. We have been making some good progress and are close to producing a product. In the Next few months, we should have a sample you can use."

Thane let out a quiet, weak laugh. "If this is true... Thank you, Shepard. I am ready to fight when you call upon me."

Shepard and Tali went to the room two doors down at the observation room. Samara was meditating as the two entered.

"You truly do impress me, Commander," Samara commended. She still sat in her meditative position. "Despite the horrors committed against you and your people you still stand before us as a fair-minded, compassionate, strong individual. Most would have become a being of vengeance destroying everything in your path, but not you. I know you are here to ask me whether I am staying. I made an oath to you. Even if I did not, I would still stay. You helped me track down my daughter. And you are a beacon of compassion and justice, something I don't often see outside of my order."

"Thank you, Samara."

"No," she said. "Thank you. We are here to save two galaxies and trillions of lives. There is no greater honour than that."

"Just Miranda left," Tali said as they walked into the main area of Deck 3.

The two noticed there was no one at the table and Gardner was not at the kitchen.

"Looks like they've made their decision," Shepard sighed.

They approached Miranda's room. The doors opened revealing Miranda working at her terminal. She looked up from it and stopped working. She had a neutral look on her face. "Commander."

"Hey Miranda. How are you- How are you dealing with this?"

"You know I feel like an idiotic from studying your body for two years and not figure this out," she said with a hint of resentment. "I have advance degrees in biology and biotechnology and I didn't realize you weren't Human."

"Miranda, I understand if you're upset-"

"Upset?" Miranda laughed. "I don't think upset truly describes what I'm feeling right now. I have been deceived all this time and I feel like a fool for not being able to see. I figured there was something more to you than you let on, but this... And now I realize that the Illusive Man deceived me because he didn't mention what he did to your people. He made it sound like it was an embarrassing political blunder, not this... massacre. I can't stay with Cerberus knowing this, but I fear for Oriana."

"That Cerberus might come after her because you left?"

"Yes."

"Miranda, I can send people to protect her."

"Can you?"

"I take care of my people, Miranda. I promise you that Cerberus won't come near her."

Miranda briefly smiled. "Thank you." She got to her feet and saluted him. "I will follow you, Commander. Let's go save the colonists."

VVVVVV

Shepard and Tali rode up in the elevator to the CIC. "This is it," Shepard said to her. "Once I plot the course, there's no turning back."

"I know you will get us through this," Tali cooed.

"Thank you, love."

The elevator doors opened and every crew member was around the galaxy map. Each of them waiting for Shepard to come up.

"What's this?"

Ken took a step forward and said, "I think I speak for all of us, Commander, when I say that all of us support you 100%. Doesn't matter that you're not Human. What matters is that you're trying to do something about the Collectors and Reapers. Now let's go and tear the Collectors a new one."

Shepard smiled and chuckle. "Alright. Everyone to your stations."

"Vessels have arrived," EDI announced.

"Vessels?" Tali asked.

Shepard looked to Tali with a wide grin. "I called for back-up."


	35. Into Hell

Chapter 33: Into Hell

Shepard stood at his desk looking over reports from the vessels GSV Buru (Praetorin-run), GSV Conrit (Rak'en-run), GSV Hoan Kiem (Tia'Zu-run), and the GSV Isshii (Praetorin-run). Each vessel was a frigate-class ship; each was slightly smaller than the Normandy. Each ship was armed with particle beams, anti-matter torpedoes and magnetic-hydrodynamic weapons. As with most ships in the Guardian military, these ships are equipment with an advance stealth system that will cloak their emissions and uses meta-metal to cloak the ship from visual scans.

These ships were in this galaxy under Operation Cleansing to destroy slaving pirates in the galaxy to help make way for the main fleet and to help make the galaxy more stable for the Reaper war. These four frigates only make up a quarter of the fleet that is part of the Operation. Under the request of the Supreme Commander, they were reassigned to assist in attacking the Collectors' home base.

Shepard heard some footsteps behind him. He turned around with the report in hand. Tali was standing there. Her stance betrayed some concern over what was coming. "I'm glad you're here," he said.

Tali approached him as she took off her helmet. "Where else would I be? We are flying off towards the Omega-4 relay to defeat the Collectors. No one has ever come back from going through that relay."

Shepard tossed the report onto the desk and moved up to embrace her. Tali rested her head on his shoulder. "We'll make it through. I promise."

"There's something I need you to promise me," she said.

"Anything."

"That I'll stay by your side in that base. If it comes down to losing your life in that base, I don't want to leave without you. Even in death, I don't want to leave your side."

Shepard looked into her eyes and smiled lovingly. "Very well, my love." He back away just a little bit to hold her hands. "There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about something."

"What about?"

Shepard swallowed. "Tali, in all the challenges I have faced in my life, I've never asked for anything in return. To me, this was my duty as an Artician and Tiven'Vian. I thought this was all life had for me. But then I met you. You brought peace and happiness to my life. You give me something to fight for. To live for. And I don't ever want leave your side." Shepard got down to one knee and looked up at her and stared in her teary eyes. Tali gasped as he got down to one knee. "Tali'Zorah vas Normandy nar Rayya. Will you be my wife?"

Tears finally came down her cheeks. She smiled and whispered, "Yes." Shepard stood up with a smile on his face. Tali kissed him passionately. "Yes! Keelah, yes!"

Shepard wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around. She lifted her feet as he did. Shepard moved towards the bed as he spun and land on it with Tali on top. Tali gave him several more pecks on the lips.

"You have just made me the happiest man in two galaxies," he said.

"You have been the greatest thing to ever happen to me, John. If anything else, know that." Tali rubbed her cheek against his and breathed heavily. She nipped his ear making him gasp. Tali always liked making John react that way. She sat up and straddled him. Tali disconnected her right arm sleeve at the shoulder. She pulled her arm out and stroked his cheek. Tali learned forward and said to him, "If this may be are last time together... let's make it special for the both of us." She leaned forward and kissed his lips again.

VVVVVV

The Illusive Man stared at the sun of the system he currently inhabited. The beep of the QEC was heard behind him. TIM turned around and said, "Shepard, I wish I had more information for you. I don't like you heading through that relay blind. But we don't have much choice."

"I'm not going in alone," Shepard said. "I have some of the best working with me. If we stick together, we'll make it."

"I knew we brought you back for a reason. I have never seen a better leader. Despite the danger, this is a great opportunity. The first Human to take a ship through and survive."

'Egotistical bastard,' Shepard thought to himself. "I'm going to destroy the Collectors. To stop their attacks on Humanity."

"Understood. Still impressive. I just wanted you to know that I appreciate the risk you're taking. Regardless of your opinion of Cerberus, of me, you are a valuable asset to all of Humanity. Be careful Shepard."

VVVVVV

"Approaching Omega-4 relay," Joker announced.

Shepard stood behind him along with Miranda.

"This is the GSV Buru," Captain Forku said. "We are ready to follow."

"This is GSV Hoan Kiem," Captain Uli said. "Status is green."

"GSV Conrit," Captain Zeiro added. "Standing by."

"GSV Isshii," Captain Polii said. "We are all ready for transit."

"Everyone stand by," Joker said over the comm.

"Let's make it happen," Shepard said.

"Reaper IFF activated," EDI said over the ship's systems. "Signal acknowledged."

"Commander, the drive core just lit up like a Christmas tree," Jacob notified over the radio.

"Drive core electrical charge at critical levels."

Joker frantically adjusted controls. "Rerouting!"

The five ships made their approach to the giant orange mass relay. The electricity of the relay grabbed each of the vessels and flung them forward to their destination.

"Brace for deceleration," EDI warned.

The vessels came out of the jump only to see the way block with the wreckage of dead ships.

"Oh shit!" Joker exclaimed.

Joker steered the Normandy upwards over the wreckage as did the Isshii, Conrit and Hoan Kiem. The Buru went downwards and fired several AM torpedoes opening an escape from the wreckage. It was able to rejoin the other vessels.

Joker breathed a sigh of relief. "Too close."

"You're telling me," Forku said. "We had to blast your way out."

"Well you certainly don't lack subtlety," Polii joked.

The area of space was filled with hundreds, if not thousands, of dead, broken ships. In the distance the crew members of all the ships could see the large black hole. It was beautiful and horrifying.

"These must be all the ships that have tried to go through the Omega-4 relay," Joker observed. "Some of them look ancient."

"I have detected an energy signature near the edge of the accretion disc," EDI said.

"Must be the Collector Base," Zeiro commented. "Assuming that Forku doesn't blow up anything thing else, we should try to get in closer before they notice us."

"I'm getting something on my sensors," Uli said.

Several drones activated as the five ships flew by.

"Incoming!"

The drones fired particle beams at the intruding ships.

"Taking evasive maneuvers," Joker notified.

Most of the drones focused on the Normandy.

"We need assistance!" Shepard said over the radio.

"Bastard's just pissing me off!" Joker muttered.

The Normandy fired two torpedoes, destroying two of the drones. The other ships flew it and fired their particle beams. Each attack was able to slice right through any of the drones.

"Little bastards are all over the place!" Forku yelled.

"Just destroy what you can!" Uli responded.

One of the drones fired a particle beam at the Normandy's side in two successive shots. The attacks made the Normandy shudder, but did no real damage.

"As long as the new plating holds," Miranda commented.

The Hoan Kiem firde a particle beam at one of the drones. It was slightly off and only destroyed the ocular's outer casing. The drone flew right through the Normandy's hall into the cargo bay.

"Intruder alert!" EDI warned.

"We have one of them in the cargo bay!" Joker reported.

"I'll take a team to clear it out," Shepard said as he walked towards the elevator.

Shepard met with Tali and Legion in the elevator as he went down towards the cargo bay. Nihlus was already in combat against the Collector drone. As the doors opened Nihlus yelled, "About damn time you got down here." Shepard, Tali and Legion ran towards cover next to him. Nihlus popped out of cover and fired a few rounds from his shotgun at the drone. "I was sitting here minding my own business when that thing just burst through the wall."

"We need to take it out before it does any major damage to the ship," Shepard said. He looked to Tali and Legion. "Keep to cover and don't let it get near you. We need to destroy it." The two nodded.

Shepard and Nihlus took the left and Tali and Legion took the right. They fire shot after shot at the drone. Its armour was thick making it take very little damage.

"Its armour is too thick!" Nihlus called out.

"Shepard-Commander," Legion said. "Our sensors indicate that the red optic sensor is its weak point. Repeated attacks could terminate the drone. Permanently."

"Do what Legion said," Shepard ordered. "Focus on the red light."

The ocular was facing Shepard and Nihlus giving them the opportunity to hit it. Shepard threw a warp which weakened the glass. He proceeded with pistol shots as Nihlus used his shotgun.

The ocular fired its particle beam at the two just barely missing them. As the beam died down Shepard and Nihlus came out of cover and returned to their volley. Shepard noticed the glass starting to crack. As it did, the ocular retreated out of the cargo bay.

"I can't seem to shake them, I'll have to lose them through the debris field," Joker said over the radio.

VVVVVV

The Normandy flew towards a thick section of debris with few openings for it to go through. Debris drifted behind the Normandy. Several of the drones collided with the wreckage.

"Our barriers were not designed to withstand debris of that size," EDI notified Joker.

"Well it's a good thing we upgraded. We're going in."

The small tunnel was starting to close from the debris. Another drone crashed into a passing metal girder. The Normandy scrapped against the size of a destroyed Quarian ship.

Joker was looking increasingly frustrated. "Come on! Find some room!"

"Kinetic barriers at 40%," EDI reported.

"Rerouting non-critical power! This is going to hurt."

Ahead Joker could see the exit out of the debris. The Normandy went downwards and then up through the change tunnel. The exit was starting to close.

"Almost, almost, almost," he said to himself as he flew the Normandy.

The Normandy flew right out of the field right before the exit closed shut, destroying the drones that pursued the Normandy.

"Hell, yeah!" Joker cheered. "Alright, damage report."

"Barriers steady at 30%. No significant damage."

"You are one crazy son of a bitch," Forku said, "but goddamn that was impressive."

Joker smirked and nodded.

"We managed to take out the other drones. Damage is minimal. Damn things are persistent if nothing else."

A drone that followed close by fired its particle beam at the Normandy hull.

"I've detected an enemy heading towards the cargo hold," EDI notified.

"That thing, again?" Joker thought out loud. "This one's up to Shepard."

VVVVVV

"It's back!" Tali called out.

The drone flew in through one of the holes it made.

"Everyone fall in," Shepard ordered. "This ends now."

They held their position as the drone approached. The volley of attacks on its optic sensor started cracking the glass more and more. "I got this." Shepard pulled out Asha and leaped forward. The sword blade went right through the damaged optic sensor. The drone started to shake and yellow cracks appeared all over it. Shepard pulled his sword out and jumped out of the way. The drone exploded, launching parts of its all around the hold.

"Looks like it'll stay destroyed," Nihlus quipped.

"Better get up here, Commander," Joker said over the radio.

"We're about to clear the debris field," Miranda added.

VVVVVV

Shepard reached the cockpit and saw what the two were looking at.

"There it is," Miranda pointed out. "The Collector base."

The base itself was of an unusual construction. There was no artistic design involved in its creation. It was purely mechanical and minimal in its design, just to fulfill whatever purpose it was meant to serve.

"See if you can find a place to land before we get their attention," Shepard said.

Joker looked to the LADAR. "Too late. It looks like they're sending an old friend to greet us."

The Collector vessels unclamped itself from the base and backed away from the dock. The cruiser slowly spun around to face the incoming fleet. Its particle cannon charged as it turned around. It fired as soon as it was facing forwards. The Normandy flew towards the left to dodge the initial attack.

"It's time to show them our new teeth," Shepard said. "All vessels. Fire the main gun."

On each of the starships, cannons emerged from their hull. The cannons charged up. The Normandy's cannon tube glowed blue whereas the other vessels' cannons glowed green. The five vessels fire all at once. Five streaks of light flew through space towards the Collector cruiser. The beams struck the vessel tearing it to pieces.

"How do you like that, you sons of bitches?" Joker roared.

The three watched as the cruiser fell apart. An explosive shockwave came from the vessel. Shortly after, the vessel finally blew apart.

"All outside defenses have been disabled," Zeiro said. "We should find a landing zone and come up with a plan."

"I agree," Shepard said. "EDI can you find a place for all of us to land."

"Landing zone located," she said. "Sending coordinates to all vessels."

VVVVVV

Miranda couldn't help but stare at the holographic representatives of each of the ship captains. There were two Praetorins which were bipedal reptiles, a Rak'en which was a six-limbed insect and a Tia'Zu which was an armoured terrifying-looking alien. Everyone else was checking their gear for the mission; some of them occasionally glanced at the holograms.

Shepard walked into the briefing room. Everyone stood at attention. Shepard approached the table and leaned forward. "Our ships have taken some damage, but are still in good shape. Despite the lack of Intelligence going through the relay, we are doing well, but this mission is far from over. Our mission is to destroy the Collectors and that means coming up with a plan to take out this station. EDI, bring up your scans."

A holographic model of the Collector base appeared before them.

"You should be able to overload their critical systems if you get to the main control centre here." EDI placed a marker near the top of the Collector base.

"That means going through the heart of the station," Jacob said. He activated some controls which revealed the interior of the base. "Right passed this massive heat signature here."

"That's the central chamber," Shepard stated. "If there are any colonists are still alive, they're being held there."

Jacob activated another function. Another marker is placed on the model. "Looks like there are two main routes. It would be a good idea to split up to keep the Collectors off balance and regroup at the central chamber."

"Our soldiers can distract Collector forces near the peripheral locations of the base, here, here, and here," Zeiro said while marking down three more locations. "We can keep a majority of the Collectors busy."

"Still these routes for us are no good," Miranda said. "Look. Both routes are blocked. See these doors? The only way passed them is to get someone to open them from the other side."

Shepard looked more closely at the base. "This place isn't a fortress. Here, look." He highlighted a ventilation shaft. "We can send someone through here. They can get to the other side of these doors and open them."

"Practically a suicide mission," Jacob said. "I volunteer."

"I appreciate the thought, Jacob," Miranda said, "but you couldn't shut down the security system in time. We need to send a tech expert."

"It's your call, Commander. Who do we send in?"

"Legion you can hack through anything," Shepard said. "I'm sending you in."

Legion nodded. "Acknowledged."

"The rest of us will break into two teams that will fight down each passage. Garrus I want you to lead the second fire team."

"You can count on me," he said.

Shepard started pacing. "I won't lie to you people. This is not going to be easy. But we're not doing this mission because it's easy. We're not doing it for recognition or, hell, a pat on the back. We are doing this mission to end the threat the Collectors pose to our galaxies. To show them and the Reapers that we are not weak. We are not scared. And we will not back down." Shepard stopped in place and faced everyone. "We don't know how many the Collectors have taken. Thousands? Hundreds of thousands? It's not important. What matters is this: Not. One. More," Shepard fiercely pointed his hand to emphasize each word. "That's what we can do, here, today! It ends with us! They want to know what we're made of? I say we show them, on our terms!" Shepard slammed his right fist into his palm. "Let's bring an end to them!"

VVVVVV

Shepard jumped out of the Normandy. He is followed by Mordin and Tali who jump down behind him. Shepard watches as the second fire team and Legion go down their pathway. Shepard and his squadmates moved forward down their designated path.

"Shepard-Commander," Legion called over the radio. "We have infiltrated the ventilation shaft. Temperature is elevated. No obstacles ahead."

"Second team, are you in position?" Shepard asked.

"In position," Garrus responded. "Meet you on the other side of those doors."

"What about our peripheral distraction teams?"

"We're are in designated positions." Keiro answered. "Ready to cause some disturbances."

Shepard's group rounded the corner and found the area filled with half a dozen Collectors. Mordin launched a cryo burst which froze two of the Collectors. Shepard shattered the two with a sword swing.

"Commander, we are taking heavy fire," Garrus reported. "But we are moving forward."

Tali fired a blast from her plasma shotgun. The impact knocked the drone off of the edge down into the abyss. A couple more drones tried to get in close to Shepard. Big mistake. Shepard spun his sword over his head and grabbed the end of the staff end. He swung it in a wide arc taking out three drones in one slash.

Three more drones flew in. Mordin used incinerate on one turning it into ash before it could land. Tali used her shotgun and fire two successive shots at the remaining two. The shots knocked them backwards into the area below.

The three exited the room into a new corridor. At the beginning of the corridor was a section of the ventilation pipe that Legion was traveling through. The pipe was blocked, but there was a terminal in front that could be used to unblock it. Legion reach the obstacle and notified, "Obstacle encountered. Please assist."

Shepard approached the terminal and activated it. The gate opened allowing Legion to move forward. "Blockage removed. Proceeding forward."

There were four more Collectors ahead. Shepard's team was in an even bigger hurry to go through their pathway, to ensure Legion makes it all the way through the pipe. They went out on the walkway with the ledge on the right. Shepard used a throw field to push two of the drones off the ledge. Tali used Chiktikka to distract the last two drones, while Mordin used incinerate to burn the two. Shepard activated the terminal and they continued forward.

The next terminal wasn't too far ahead. Shepard activated it and rounded the corner to discover a large area with a dozen Collector drones, guardians and assassins in wait. Shepard used shockwave to lower their numbers. Mordin moved from cover to cover, taking shots at Collectors with his Tempest SMG. At least two Collectors were downed during his advance. Tali worked with Shepard in their advance towards the next terminal. Tali used her drone to distract the drones as Shepard carved a pathway using Asha.

One of the drones started glowing and then a burst of energy came from it. Yellow cracks appeared all over it and its eyes glowed.

"ARTICIAN, YOUR INTERFERENCEC ENDS-"

Shepard didn't even give Harbinger the benefit of ending his sentence before cutting him in two. He activated the next terminal. Mordin regrouped with Shepard and Tali. They went around the corner of the corridor they entered and encountered a small squad of drones. Shepard summoned a singularity which pulled the drones together into a floating ball. Mordin used incinerate to end their lives.

The next area had a lot of cover. Ahead was the last two terminals to be activated and the door they needed to get through to regroup with the others. Tali activated her drone and had it placed on the far side of the room to keep the Collectors in the back of the room. A Collector fired a particle beam on their location. Mordin and Shepard fired back from their cover when the beam stopped. The Collector released a shield barrier in front of it.

Shepard used Reave on the Collector to bypass the wall. Mordin went with Tali to keep the Collectors distracted while Shepard moved forward to activate the second last terminal. Harbinger flew into the area and released its energy attacks.

"Keep pushing forward!" Shepard yelled to his squad.

Shepard used pull on two Collectors pulling them towards them. Tali fired her shotgun killing one of the Collectors. Mordin took down the other Collector with his SMG. There was a break in their attack which Shepard took advantage of. He jumped over his cover and rolled to the last terminal. Shepard activated it and called to his squad mates, "Move it!"

Tali and Mordin regrouped with Shepard. They fired back at the approaching Collectors while they retreated to the blast doors. Shepard slammed the door and called in through the radio, "Come in! We're in position. We need this door open. Now!"

Harbinger launched an energy ball towards Shepard which barely missed him. Suddenly the door opened. Mordin went in first followed by Tali. Legion was next to the door readying it to close. Shepard backed in through the door while firing his pistol at nearby Collectors.

"Here they come!" Shepard screamed. "Fall back!"

Garrus and his team came up next to Shepard.

"Suppressing fire!" Garrus ordered his team. "Don't let anyone through that door!"

They created a wall of gunfire that eliminated any Collector that got too close to their position and kept other drones in cover. Legion finally activated the door's command, closing it shut.

"Nice job, Legion," Shepard congratulated. "I knew you wouldn't let us down."

"Shepard you need to see this," Miranda said to him.

Shepard turned around to Miranda. She guided him and the rest of the squad around the corner where they saw the central chamber. There were pods all over the walls. Only a couple of them had people in them, making Shepard wondered what happened to the other colonists. Shepard approached one of the pods. Inside was a man in a mechanic uniform. The man's skin started to dissolve revealing the muscle underneath. His eyes opened and he started pounding on the glass.

"My god," Shepard gasped. "They're still alive!" He looked to his squadmates.

"Let me out!" the man screamed. His skin dissolved all over his body. "Let me-" His words turned to screams as he dissolved inside the pod. Blood splattered on the glass.

Shepard struggled to find a way to open the pod. The man disappeared from sight and his screams ceased.

"Get her out of there!" Shepard ordered while pointing to the last colonist.

Nihlus started pounding on the glass with his assault rifle. Miranda went to the terminal near the pods and found a function to opening all of the pods in the area. The pod that contained the last colonist, a woman with medium length brown hair, opened and she fell out. Shepard caught her.

The colonist's legs were weak. She struggled to stand up. Her breathing was erratic. The colonist looked around with worry and then finally back to Shepard. Tears came from her eyes and she cried out. She hugged Shepard tightly and cried into his shoulder.

Shepard hugged her back and allowed her the relief. "It's okay, it's okay," he cooed. "It's over."

"Th-They were killing us!" she screamed. "I watched as the other colonists were melted down one by one. Oh, god! They killed my family and friends. They killed everyone and I was forced to watch!"

"What's your name?"

"I-It's Lilith," she answered. "Those... monsters came to Horizon and rounded us up. I was talking to Chief Williams before we were attacked. I was frozen by some bugs and shoved into that pod." She jabbed her finger at the pod. "I-I woke up occasionally and saw these things kill other Humans." Lilith released her hold. "Who are you people?"

"I'm Commander Shepard and this is my crew. We came here to stop the Collectors and to save any colonists."

"Thank you," she said. "Thank you, thank you. I-I just want to leave. I don't want to see anymore Humans get dissolved and pumped through those tubes."

Shepard looked at the tubes. "What are the Collectors doing with our genetic material?" he thought out loud.

"I don't know, but I'm glad you got her before they did the same to me."

"We've done well so far," Miranda stated. "Let's hope we can finish the job."

"Joker can you get a fix on our position?" Shepard asked over the radio.

"Roger that, Commander," Joker responded. "All those tubes lead into the main control room above you. The route is blocked by a security door, but there's another chamber that runs parallel to it."

"I cannot recommend that," EDI said. "Thermal emissions suggest that the chamber is overrun with seeker swarms. Mordin's counter measures cannot protect you from so many at once."

"There have to be a way," Shepard said. "What about biotics? Can we create a bubble to protect ourselves from the swarms?"

"I might be able to generate a biotic field to keep them at bay," Samara said. "I won't be able to protect all of us, but I could get in a small team if they stay close."

"I could do it too," Miranda added. "In theory, any biotic could handle it. Shepard, who do you want to maintain the field?"

"Jack and I will take in a small team in through the seeker swarm. The rest of you provide a diversion by going through the main passage. We'll open the security doors from the other side and meet you there."

"Who should lead the diversion team?" Miranda asked.

"Garrus."

"I'll keep the Collectors busy while you slip in through the back," Garrus said.

"What about me?" Lilith asked. "I don't know how to fight."

"Commander, we can do a pick-up but we will have to land back from your position," Joker chirped in.

"We can't afford to go back, Shepard," Miranda scorned. "Not now."

"She'll never make it without help," Shepard said. He looked to Mordin. "Mordin escort her back to the Normandy. We'll all meet you there when we set this place to go."

Mordin opened his omni-tool. "Joker, need location of landing zone. Will meet you there."

"We all have our assignments. Miranda and Tali with me. Let's move out."

VVVVVV

The four of them entered through the door. Jack activated her abilities and created an energy field around them all. "Moving out," Jack yelled out. "Stay close if you want to live." She moved forward taking the field with her.

"Garrus, here *keesh* ready to *keeish* waiting for *keeish* orders," Garrus called in, but his voice was broken up with static.

"Damn!" Shepard cursed. "The swarms are interfering with radio contact."

Shepard, Miranda and Tali walked alongside her. They got to the area before the slope down into the area below. Jack stopped and looked to Shepard.

"You ready for this?" Shepard asked her.

"I was made for this," Jack answered.

"Move out," Shepard ordered.

"So after all this we only save one colonist," Miranda remarked.

"It's better than no one," Shepard said.

"The colonist may also-" Tali was about to say until several Collectors flew into the area. "Collectors!"

Shepard threw two warps at a couple of the drones. Miranda used a biotic slam to grab one of the Collectors and slam it into the ground. Tali was unable to attack anything due to their distance from their targets.

Garrus briefly chirped in through the radio, "Acquiring target."

The Collector that was slammed into the ground exploded with energy and stood up. "STOP RESISTING, SHEPARD."

"Goddamn it's annoying," Shepard groaned.

Miranda fired her SMG at Harbinger taking away its biotic barriers. Harbinger fired a warp in their direction. Shepard swung Asha and redirected the warp in another direction. Tali moved in front and fired a charged shotgun blast at Harbinger. The plasma tore it in two.

Shepard looked down into the area below and just saw one. "Just one guy left."

"Then take him out!" Jack yelled.

Shepard fired one round from his pistol into its head. "Let's keep moving."

They continued down the ramp to the lower area.

"As I was saying," Tali returned back to what she was saying, "Lilith may be able to testify on our behalf about the Collectors."

"I doubt she would be able to sway the Council that Reapers exist," Miranda commented. "All she can do is say what the Alliance already knows: That the Collectors are responsible for the colony abductions. But the Alliance still thinks Cerberus is behind it all."

A platform flew by in the distance and Garrus came in again on the radio, "Nice shot!" Several Husks pulled themselves up from the edge of the walkway ahead. Shepard threw a shockwave in their direction to knock them back down. Another three tried to climb up, but Shepard repeated the attack clearing the last of the Husks.

The familiar sound of beating wings came into the area. A couple Collectors flew into the area. Miranda quickly used slam on the drone in the front sending it downwards. As it was flung downwards, energy exploded from it revealing its possession.

"Nice move, cheerleader!" Jack cheered Miranda. It was unusual to hear a compliment from Jack, especially for Miranda, but it was welcomed.

Shepard followed with a warp on the other drone. Jack jumped down on a lowered area and took cover behind a wall as four Collectors moved into the area ahead. "I need you three to take care of the Collectors ahead."

Shepard put away his pistol and sword and used an area Reave against the Collectors ahead. Two of them were instantly killed while the other two just had their barriers drained. Shepard felt stronger after the attack. He followed with a singularity to pull in the last two Collectors.

"Hit them, Miranda!"

Miranda popped out of cover and launched a warp. The explosion blew the Collectors apart and cleared the area ahead.

"It's clear ahead, Jack."

"Then let's move out," she said.

They continued forward. Garrus popped in over the radio, "Enemy down." The squad rounded the corner of the walkway and saw several Husks and a Scion.

"Looks like a real fight ahead," Jack noted. "I'll take cover until you've dealt with them."

Shepard noticed two of the Husks were Abominations. He used pull on then and then followed with a throw to launch them directly at the Scion. The dual explosions sent the Scion back. It got to close to the ledge and it lost its footing and fell over the edge.

Tali and Miranda took down the two regular Husks. "Nice job with the Scion," Miranda said. More Husks pulled themselves up and started charged at the group. Tali leveled her shotgun and fired a few shots. The spread shot manage to take out two Husks at a time.

Jack saw there were no more Husks. "Area clear, moving out, Commander."

As the moved forward, a couple more Husks pulled themselves up. Shepard stomped one in the face knocking it back down, and fired his pistol into the temple of the other.

"I-I can't hold on much longer," Jack groaned. "I can s-see the entrance from here. I need to get there... soon!"

"You can do this, Jack," Shepard encouraged. "I believe in you!"

Jack forced herself forward after his encouraging words. Another Husk climbed up to the right. Shepard kicked it away off of the walkway. Another Husk revealed itself. Tali shot it with her shotgun.

The group went down the ramp to the entrance. Jack was almost out of energy to hold the shield together.

"Hold up, we're almost there," Shepard told Jack.

Collectors flew into the area behind them. Miranda, Tali and Shepard gave Jack cover fire as they approached the entrance. They moved to the entrance, one by one, covering each other's retreat.

"We need to leave here, Shepard," Miranda urged.

"Alright, let's move," Shepard gave the order.

Shepard fired four shots from his pistol at the charging drone. The Collectors still continued to advance on their location.

"They're pushing, keep it up!"

"Hurry, Shepard," Jack roared.

The entrance opened for them. Jack turned around and charged up the biotic shield and pushed her arms forward. The shield exploded in all directions, sending the drones and seeker swarms all over. They retreated through the door. Shepard fired a couple more rounds at any approaching Collectors before going through. The doors closed shut.

As the doors closed shut, the radio static finally cleared up. "Repeat, Shepard do you copy?" Garrus called in.

"I copy," Shepard answered. "What's your position?"

"We're at the door. They got us pinned down."

Shepard and Miranda got to the door and took positions ready to fire. Tali went over to the console and went through the controls to open the doors.

"We're coming, just hold on," Shepard said. He looked to Tali. "Get this door open!"

The doors opened and the rest of the squad poured in. There was a small army just outside, shooting from every direction. As soon as they entered the room Shepard ordered Tali, "Seal the door!"

The door closed shut. Garrus clutched at his stomach. Shepard went to him and noticed he was uninjured. "Their shot just skid my armour," he said.

Shepard patted his shoulder. He walked a few feet away and called the Normandy, "Joker, are you at the rendezvous point?"

"I'm here, Commander," Joker answered. "Mordin and the colonist just showed up."

"No injuries were sustained on their way," EDI added. "The colonist, Lilith, is currently in the med-bay being checked by Doctor Chakwas."

"Excellent," Miranda commented. "Now let's make it count. EDI, what's our next step?"

"There should be some nearby platforms that should take you to the main control console. From there you can overload the systems and destroy the base."

"Commander, you got a problem," Joker warned. "Hostiles are amassing just outside the door."

Shepard turned to the platform EDI mentioned and climbed on top of it. He turned to face his squadmates. "A rear guard can defend this position and keep the Collectors from overwhelming us."

"Pick a team to go with you, Shepard," Miranda said. "Everyone else can bunker down here and cover your back."

"Tali, Miranda and Nihlus, with me."

The three called upon, climbed onto the platform and stood by Shepard.

"I'm ready, Commander," Miranda said.

"So am I," Tali added.

"Willing to fight the good fight," Nihlus said.

"Anything to say before we do this?" Miranda asked Shepard.

"The Collectors, the Reapers, they aren't a threat to us," Shepard started, "they are a threat to everyone, everything, in not just this galaxy, but of two galaxies. Those are the lives we are fighting for. That's the scale. It's been a long journey, and no one's coming out without scars." Grunt pounded his fists together. "But it all comes down to this moment. We win or lose it all in the next few minutes. Make me proud. Make yourselves proud."

"Well said," Miranda commented. "Let's go finish this."

The platform flew off towards the main control console. It went a good distance before stopping. A platform came into the area with three Collectors on it. Shepard used a singularity on the platform. The drones were yanked off and left floating in the air.

Another platform appeared. This one with just two Collectors: one drone and a guardian. Nihlus jumped over his cover and fired a few rounds at the drone. Miranda used a warp to destroy the guardian's barrier allowing Tali to finish it off. The squad moved onto the new platform.

A spinning platform came into view. Three Collectors rode this platform. One of them exploded with energy. "WE ARE ASSUMING CONTROL."

Tali summoned her drone into the group to distract them allowing Shepard and Nihlus to move in. The two pulled out their swords. Shepard cut Harbinger down the middle. Nihlus went right up against the two Collectors. He stabbed one in the face. Nihlus pulled the sword out and in that same motion, decapitated the other drone.

A double platform spun into the area. This one had five Collectors on it. Shepard used a singularity which managed to pull three Collectors off of the platform. The platform connected to theirs. Nihlus and Miranda moved in quickly to the right. Miranda used a warp on the guardian. Nihlus shot it with his shotgun.

"GIVE UP, ARTICIAN."

Shepard stabbed Harbinger in the face and then pulled its head apart. "Never."

A platform with two Scions and three abominations flew into the area.

"Just how many of these do we have to deal with?" Nihlus complained out loud.

The platform connected to theirs. The Abominations charged at Shepard. He used a biotic pulse to send the Husks backwards. The three hit the Scion on the right and exploded. The Scion was torn apart.

The Scion on the left fired a shockwave at Shepard. Shepard pushed himself off of the ground with his biotics to avoid the Scion attack. He closed in the distance and used his biotics to push the Scion back off of the edge on the platform. The creature squealed as it fell into the abyss. They didn't hear anymore platforms. The group finally had a chance to catch their breath.

Shepard activated the terminal. "This is it. All the tubes lead to this spot. EDI what can you tell us? What are they doing?"

The platform slowly spun as it made its approach to the main control console.

"The tubes are feeding into a super structure," EDI replied. "According to my readings, it must be massive."

Shepard looked up at the super structure in question. He felt a chill go down his back and his stomach twist and turn. Miranda, Tali and Nihlus turned around. Their eyes widen.

"Shepard... If my calculations are correct, the super structure... is a Reaper."

"Not just any Reaper," Shepard corrected. "A Human Reaper."

The creation before them was an incomplete Reaper. It was a sickening imitation of a Human skeleton. It had two eye sockets, but its right eye socket had two eyes. Its jaw hung open with mandibles along both sides. The lower half of its body was not complete so it was just its spine. The monstrosity hung from four supports.

"Precisely," EDI said.

The platform they stood on connected to the other platforms in the area.

The tubes that connected to the Reaper had their protective covers retract, revealing the genetic material being injected into the Reaper larva.

"Keelah," Tali gasped. "I knew the Reapers were monsters, but this..."

"So this is a Reaper," Nihlus thought out loud. "To imagine that there are hundreds maybe thousands more like this one. The Council will need to know of this. The galaxy will need to know."

"It appears the Collectors processed tens of thousands of Humans," EDI concluded. "Significantly more will be required to complete the Reaper."

"They're building it to look like a Human," Shepard observed. "Why?"

"It appears that a Reaper is based upon the species used to create it."

"Reapers are machines. Why do they need Humans at all?"

"Incorrect. Reapers are sapient constructs. A hybrid of organic and inorganic material. The exact construction methods are unclear, but it seems probable that the Reapers absorb the essence of a species utilizing it in their reproduction process."

"Spirits," Nihlus muttered.

"This thing is an abomination," Shepard stated. "EDI, how do we destroy it?"

"The large tubes injecting the fluid are a weak structural link," EDI answered. "Destroying them should cause the supports to collapse and the Reaper to fall."

The shutters on the tubes closed shut.

"Give us a minute EDI. We have to take care of some old friends first."

A platform came into the area. Two drones, a guardian and a possessed drone stood on it. The squad moved to higher ground and fired upon the platform's occupants. Miranda used slam on one of the drones. The biotic move lifted the drone off of the platform and slammed it downwards to the area below. Nihlus sued a concussion blast to knock the other drone off of the platform, leaving just the guardian and Harbinger left.

Tali called forth her drone behind the guardian. The guardian was forced to look behind it to deal with the drone. Miranda took the opportunity and launched a warp at the Collector to destroy its barrier. She pulled out her pistol and fired two rounds into its head.

Tali's drone then moved to Harbinger which gave Shepard the few seconds he needed to move in and finish him. He fired three rounds from his pistol at Harbinger's head at point blank finishing the Reaper avatar.

The shutters in front of the tubes retracted. Shepard and Nihlus fired at the tube on the far right while Tali and Miranda fired at the tube next to it. The two tubes shattered and fell apart. The Reaper larva shook a little from losing some of its supports.

The shutters on the last two tubes closed off. Another platform came into the area. This one had four guardians on it. As soon as it landed, Shepard created a singularity. The attack did not pull in the guardians, but Miranda followed up with a warp. The close range explosion caused the singularity to become unstable and explode. The shock from it sent the guardians flying in all directions. One of the guardians flew towards Nihlus. He pulled out his sword and sliced forwards, splitting the guardian in half.

"I can see why you like using swords in combat," Nihlus said. "Very good for close combat."

The shutters on the two tubes retracted, revealing the structural weakness of the tubes.

"The tubes!" Shepard yelled.

They fired at the tubes again. The tube on the far left went first. The shutters were starting to close, but Shepard and Nihlus destroy it before it could close. The Reaper came loose and jerked forward. The Reaper then dropped down out of sight. Shepard and his squad watched as the abomination fell to the ground, hundreds of feet below.

"Shepard to ground team, status report!" Shepard called over the radio,

"This is Garrus. We are holding but they keep coming. A quick exit is preferable."

"This is Uli. Peripheral distraction teams have been relentless attacked. I agree with Ser Garrus. We need to get out."

"Head to the Normandy," Shepard ordered. "Everyone else, head back to your ships and get out of here. Joker, prep the engines. I'm about to overload this place and blow it sky high."

"Roger that, Commander," Joker replied.

Shepard crouched down by the main control console and pulled it out.

"Uh, Commander... I got an incoming signal from the Illusive Man. EDI is patching it through."

Shepard worked through the controls on the console and localizing points at which would cause the most damage with an overload. Miranda activated her omni-tool and the hologram of TIM appeared.

"Shepard, you've done the impossible," he stated.

"I was part of a team," Shepard said. "They gave their all for this mission."

"I know. I'm looking at the schematics that EDI uploaded. A timed radiation pulse would kill the remaining Collectors, but leave their machinery and technology intact. This is our chance Shepard. They were building a Reaper. That knowledge, that framework, could save us."

Shepard felt rage course through him. He jumped to his feet and faced TIM. "They liquefy people and turn them into monsters. We have to destroy the base."

"Don't be short-sighted!" TIM scorned. "Our best chance against the Reapers is to turn their own resources against them. They were working directly with the Reapers. Who knows what information is buried there. This base is a gift. We can't just destroy it."

'The son of bitch,' Shepard thought. 'After all these years, he's exactly the same ruthless monster as before.'

"No matter what technology we find, it's not worth it."

"Shepard, you died fighting for what you believed in. We brought you back to keep fighting. Some would say that what we did to you went too far, but look what you've accomplished. I didn't discard you because I knew your value. Don't be so quick to discard this facility. Think of the potential!"

Despite all that this monster before him has done, he still refuses to learn from his mistakes. He is unrepentant, uncaring and ruthless. TIM is likely to destroy them all, given this chance. Going into this base Shepard knew he was going to destroy it. This base has caused nothing by destruction to countless lives and this galaxy. Their solution is not hidden among evil methods. Shepard let these thoughts run through his head before returning to the Guardian's motto.

"We'll fight and win without it," Shepard roared. "I won't let fear compromise who I am."

TIM turned around to face Miranda. "Miranda. Do not let Shepard destroy this base!"

"Or what?" Miranda replied. "You'll replace me next?"

"I gave you an order, Miranda."

"I noticed. Consider this my resignation."

TIM panicked and tried one last attempt to convince Shepard. "Shepard think about what's at stake. Everything Cerberus has done for you."

"I know exactly what Cerberus has done for me," Shepard yelled.

"What?" TIM muttered before Miranda cut the signal.

"That guy was starting to get on my nerves," Nihlus commented.

"Here." Tali handed Shepard a charge for the console.

Shepard set the timer and placed it on the console. "Let's move. We have ten minutes before the reactor overloads and blows this station apart." As soon as he injected the timer into the platform, the platform shook violently. It caused them all to lose their footing.

A large metal hand grabbed onto the left side of the area. A mechanical roar echoed throughout the area. The Reaper larva rose up and looked down at the four.

"Dear god," Miranda gasped.

"Shoot it!" Shepard ordered. "Give it everything you have!"

They opened fire on the glowing orbs that were its eyes and chest orb. Red energy began to charge around the Reaper's mouth.

"Everyone take cover!"

They all ducked down in time to dodge the energy attack. It was a spread shot of red energy. It impacted the area and caused miniature explosions.

"I might be able to pull something together to take that thing down," Shepard said. He looked to Tali and said. "Remember how I took out that mass effect core on the Reaper?"

Tali nodded. "We'll keep it distracted while you charge up your attack."

"What's he planning on doing?" Nihlus asked her as they popped out of cover and continued shooting.

"You'll see."

Shepard hid behind the tall cover and prepared his biotic attack. He closed his eyes and concentrated as he formed together a ball of dark and alpha energy. Shepard quietly chanted an ancient verse while doing so. His friends continued their assault of the Reaper with very little results.

"Any time you're ready, Commander!" Miranda yelled out.

Shepard's eyes shot open. They glowed green from the energy that flowed through his body. He moved out of cover stared up at the colossal monstrosity. The beast stared charging up its energy cannon.

"Commander, get out of there!" Nihlus yelled.

"May this bring the spirits that reside in you peace," Shepard said. He wiped the ball of energy at the energy cannon with all his might. The ball of energy impacted the cannon and exploded, destroying the cannon. The resulting destruction caused a chain reaction of explosions around the Reaper's body.

Flame erupted from where the Reaper's mouth was. It bent backwards and then fell forwards. It caused the front platform to lean towards it. The platform it impacted broke away from the rest of the platforms. Tali was standing on that platform and when it titled, she lost her footing and slid downwards to the edge.

"John!" she cried out.

John ran forwards and jumped and slid down after her. "Tali!"

They both reached for each other. Their hands barely touched each other. Tali fell over the edge, but Shepard grabbed her hand in time. Tali hung there as the two watched the Reaper fall to the ground below and explode. The explosion's shockwave gave them to boost to get back onto the platform, but it always tilted the platform in the other direction, causing Tali and Shepard to roll in the other direction.

They stopped rolling when they landed back onto the platform that Nihlus and Miranda were on. A renegade platform flew into their direction and before they could react, everything went black for all of them.

Shepard woke up on his stomach with a weight on his back. He didn't know how long he was out, but since they're not dead, they might still have time and he couldn't wait any longer. He got up and got the support off of his back. The column slammed when it landed.

As soon as he gathered his thoughts, he realized, 'Tali!' He looked around desperately and saw he on the edge of the crashed platform. Shepard ran over and turned her to face him. Her eyes opened.

"My hero," she muttered jokingly.

"I'm glad you're okay." He saw Miranda and Nihlus. "Check Miranda, I'll check Nihlus."

Tali went over to Miranda and shook her awake. "Come on, Miranda."

"Wh-What?" she groaned.

"We need to get out of here."

Shepard lifted the column off of Nihlus and saw that he was waking up. Miranda and Nihlus got to their feet.

"Do you copy?" Joker's voice came in over the radio. "Commander? Come on Shepard, don't leave me hanging. Do you copy?"

"I'm here, Joker," Shepard replied. "Did the ground team make it?"

"All survivors are on board. We're just waiting for you."

A swarm of seekers appeared. The four ran for it down the tunnels.

"ARTICIAN," Harbinger addressed. "YOU CHANGED NOTHING."

Shepard fired a copy of rounds at the swarm to slow them down while his squadmates went ahead. He followed as they went ahead.

"YOUR SPECIES HAS THE ATTENTION OF THOSE WHO ARE INFINITELY GREATER. THAT WHICH YOU KNOW AS REAPERS ARE YOUR SALVATION THROUGH YOUR DESTRUCTION."

Shepard and his squad encountered several Collector guardians during their escape. They had no time for a fight, so they just ran towards where the Normandy waited. The guardians gave chase after them. Explosions went off all over the place.

The Normandy rose up over the ridge. Its side door opened to reveal Joker with an AR. He gave them some covering fire. A column crashed down near the Normandy. Miranda, Nihlus and Tali jumped onto the Normandy. Miranda and Nihlus went inside while Tali and Joker stayed in the doorway to wait for Shepard.

A column crashed down and took out some of the platforms near the Normandy. Shepard went into a full sprint to the Normandy. When he got to the edge, he leaped towards to Normandy. Tali couldn't breathe as she watched him hurtle towards them. 'Please make it.'

Shepard grabbed the edge of the doorway and held on. Tali reached down and pulled him up. As soon as he was up, the doors closed shut. The Normandy took off and raced to get out of the station.

"Detonation in ten, nine, eight..." EDI started counting down.

"Yeah, yeah, I get the gist of it, EDI," Joker said. "Hold on!"

The Normandy left the station, where they could see the explosions happen all over the base. The Normandy raced towards the relay to escape the system.

The countdown reached zero and the station blew apart. A wave of energy and flames exploded outwards eliminating everything in its path. The light of the explosion was blinding. Wreckage and dead ships were engulfed by the dozens from the explosions. The Normandy got closer and closer to the relay.

The energy of the relay reacted and charged the Normandy. As the shockwave reach the Normandy, it launched forward leaving the graveyard system.

VVVVVV

Shepard entered into the debriefing room. The table lowered down for him to speak with the Illusive Man. He walked onto it. TIM sat in his chair holding a glass of brandy and smoking a cigarette.

'He looks upset,' Shepard thought.

"Shepard, you're making a habit of costing me more than time and money," he said.

"Too many lives were lost at that base," Shepard argued. "I'm not sorry it's gone."

"The first of many lives. The technology from that base could have secured Human dominance in the galaxy against the Reapers and beyond."

"Human dominance? Or just Cerberus?" Shepard accused.

"Strength for Cerberus is strength for every Human," TIM said as he got to his feet. "Cerberus is Humanity! I should have known you would choke on the hard decisions."

"I'm not looking for your approval. Harbinger is coming and he won't be alone. This galaxy needs a leader who is looking out for them. I'm doing things my way, whether you agree or not."

"Don't turn your back on me, Shepard! I made you; I brought you back from the dead."

"And I'm going to do what I was brought back to do! I'm going to win this war, and I'll do it without sacrificing the soul of our species."

"After everything I've done!"

Shepard finally snapped. "You honestly don't remember me, do you?"

"What? Shepard, we've never met any earlier than our first meeting after Project Lazarus."

"Of course we did," Shepard yelled. His voice contained a lot more angry. "And I'm insulted that you would forget me! Or maybe you don't like to think of past failures."

"I'm sorry if my memory fails me."

Fury surged through Shepard. "Let me remind you by saying the last thing I said to you before you cut me off." Shepard took in a breath. "You may have brought chaos upon my people, but we shall persevere. We will fight, we will rebuild, we will return. Justice will not be denied."

TIM's eyes widen and were filled with fear. "No... That's not possible. The virus..."

"...Should have killed us all? Guess what? We survived!" Shepard roared. "You sent our species to hell and we crawled our way back out. Now we will seek justice for what you've done to our people. We will fight the Reapers and we will find you. Illusive Man. You will pay for what you've done to our galaxy! Joker, cut this transmission."

Shepard's hologram vanished. TIM fell back into his chair and felt a great deal of dread fall upon him. He thought what happened over twenty years ago was over. They got advance technology and the galaxy it was stolen from, fell into chaos from the nanobot glitch.

Cerberus' future, and Humanity's, was looking bleak. Cerberus needed a plan for the Reapers, and an Artician retaliation. He felt like an idiot for not seeing it. The young child chosen to be a military leader was the same man as Shepard. It all made sense. Shepard's intelligence, his information network, and his supposed friends. TIM slammed his fist into the armrest of his chair.

ALL IS NOT LOST.

It was that quiet voice in his head. His subconscious.

HOPE LIES ACROSS THE OMEGA-4 RELAY. RECOVER WHAT YOU CAN OF THE BASE.

'Yes, of course,' TIM thought. 'This base was designed by the Reapers; an explosion surely could not have destroyed everything.'

TIM sent forth an order to the recovery team.

Captain Fummer,

Mission is still a go. Recover what you can.

-Illusive Man

VVVVVV

Shepard exited out of the elevator. Thane bumped into him. He smiled and continued on his way. Shepard walked through the cargo bay and watched every work on the repairs. He walked by Legion, Grunt, Jack and Garrus. They nodded their heads in respect. Shepard smiled.

Joker approached the commander and said, "We received a transmission from the GSV Conrit. They said that they are returning to their original mission and will be more than ready to return to give you aid. They also sent over this." Joker handed Shepard an OSD. On it was information on Harbinger along with a large amount of data from the Collector base. "They said one of their Exions data mined during the mission and put this together. It might be enough."

"It just might," Shepard said while looking out of one of the holes into space. He stared at the stars. Deep down it felt like... they were staring back.

VVVVVV

In the depths of dark space, old machines started activating. Their bodies lit up. Their legs clenched and opened. They began their journey towards the unsuspecting galaxy before them.

THE CYCLE WILL NOT BE BROKEN.


	36. Lair of the Shadow Broker

Chapter 34: Lair of the Shadow Broker

Shepard entered the med-bay where Chakwas and Lilith resided. "How's our guest, Doctor?" he asked.

"Physically she's fine," Chakwas answered.

"I'm just a little shaken from what happened at that base," Lilith finished. "I'm glad you blew that place to hell. No one should have a fate like that. I've been meaning to ask... Are you THE Commander Shepard?"

"I am," Shepard replied.

"I thought you were dead."

"I was in a coma for the last couple of years while I recovered. I've been working undercover for the last while, while taking down the Collectors."

"Undercover?"

"Infiltrating Cerberus, a Human supremist group. I can tell you this because I broke ties with them and really tick off their leader, so there is no cover to keep. Now about where you'll go from here... Which colony did you come from?"

Lilith bowed her head in sadness. "I-I'm not sure if it's even around anymore after the Collectors attacked. I'm from Horizon."

"Horizon is still around. My team and I went there to repel the attack. They still took half the colony, but it is still there."

Lilith jumped to her feet. "Oh thank god! Did you find Williams there?"

"Ashley Williams?"

"Yes! The Alliance representative."

"Yes, she's fine. We managed to repel the attack before they could take her."

"I'm glad she's fine. She was on your crew during your mission against Saren, right? I'm surprised she didn't rejoin your crew."

"She..." Shepard briefly reflected on those events. "She had a career of her own. Ash couldn't drop everything to rejoin my crew. We'll be returning you to your colony. Soon after you return, the Alliance is going to be asking you a lot of questions about what happened. I'm going to need you to answer them fully and truthfully."

"Of course, Commander."

VVVVVV

Shepard reached the CIC to set course for Horizon. Kelly was at her station working away. She heard the Commander walking by and turned around. "Hello, Commander. I sent the Collector Base data to the Council. Also you have a message at your terminal. It's... uh, from Cerberus."

This news caused Shepard to raise a brow. "Why would them sent me a message?"

"The message was sent shortly before we went through the Omega-4 Relay," she answered.

"I'll have a look then." Shepard walked over to his terminal. He looked into his inbox and saw it was a message from Cerberus Intel Centre.

The message was about some Intelligence they gathered about the Shadow Broker which may be useful in locating him. Shepard laughed a little to himself, realizing how much the Illusive Man must be kicking himself for this department for sending this Intelligence. It's likely TIM wanted the Broker out of the way so he could have access to his network for himself.

'It seems we'll be paying Liara a visit after our trip to Horizon,' Shepard thought.

VVVVVV

Shepard, Garrus and Nihlus entered Liara's office. Liara jumped out of her seat upon seeing him. "Shepard!" she exclaimed. "I heard that the Omega-4 Relay was activated. I knew it was you. I've been hoping you would make it. And here you are. You've done the impossible yet again."

"And I would love to recap the mission, but I thought this required your immediate attention." Shepard handed her an OSD.

"What's this?"

"Cerberus had Intel on the Shadow Broker."

"Goddess." Liara started reading the OSD. "Are you still with Cerberus?"

"No."

"This is a leaked transmission between Shadow Broker operatives. Some hints to the location, and..." An image of a Drell appeared on the OSD. Liara's eyes widen. "It's Feron. He's still alive."

"Friend of yours?"

"Yes. He helped me recovered your body from the Shadow Broker. I hadn't imagine in two years I would be able to save him."

"Well, any friend of yours is a friend of mine. What's our next step?"

"I...I don't know. I need to prepare, to think. I'm going home." Liara got up from her desk and started walking out.

"You okay?"

"I spent two years plotting revenge. Now I have the chance to make it a rescue."

"Let me help. I'll come by your apartment?"

"Okay. Hopefully I'll have a plan by then. Thank you, Shepard." Liara left the office.

"Do you ever pick an easy enemy, Shepard?" Nihlus asked.

VVVVVV

When Shepard, Garrus and Nihlus got to her apartment, they saw the front door open. They entered inside and saw half a dozen cops combing the place. Shepard approached the police line and asked, "What's going on?"

The officer next to the line turned to him and said, "This area is sealed off. Please step back, sir."

"Sealed off? Why?"

An Asari reached the bottom the bottom of the stairs and answered, "Someone tried to kill your friend, Commander Shepard."

"Vasir?" Nihlus said.

"Agent Nihlus? I thought you were in a coma."

"I woke up."

"You and your people are dismissed, Officer."

"You can't do that!" the officer argued.

Shepard, Garrus and Nihlus crossed the line.

"Already done," Vasir stated.

"You two know each other?" Shepard asked Nihlus.

"Yeah, I know her. Tela Vasir. Special Tactics and Recon."

"A Spectre?"

"I heard you were reinstated. That's good to hear. You're a legend. I might even get you to sign my chest plate."

"Definitely mentioning that to Tali," Garrus joked.

"I assumed you had business with your friend this evening, Commander?" Vasir asked Shepard.

"Liara was following a lead on the Shadow Broker."

"The Shadow Broker? Dangerous enemy to have."

"Well, Shepard needed a replacement for enemy after we finished the Collectors," Nihlus quipped.

"The Collectors? I find that hard to believe."

"We sent the report to the Council."

"I look forward to hearing about it."

"Liara was expecting me," Shepard interjected. "She would have left a message for me. Her office wasn't safe."

"I'm not surprised. Illium is just Omega with expensive shoes. I haven't found anything useful for tracking her down yet. You knew T'Soni better than I do. Where would she have hidden her backups?"

"Let me take a look around."

Shepard searched different parts of the room. He observed the bullet holes in the windows, followed by the display case of his old armour. Eventually his search went up stairs around Liara's bed. Shepard noticed a picture of the Normandy. He picked it up. The image changed to that of the Prothean dig site on Eden Prime.

"That picture changed when you touched it," Vasir observed. "It must be keyed to your ID."

"It's a Prothean dig site. Liara did leave a message."

"There are a few Prothean-looking things around the apartment. Let's see what we can find."

Shepard looked at the Prothean near the bed. It had no noticeable slots. He went down the stairs and walked over to the case. He touched the glass. A small holographic display briefly appeared under his touch before vanishing. A hidden slot on the case opened and revealed the data disk.

"Vasir, I found something," Shepard notified her.

Vasir walked over and saw the disk in his hand. "A backup disk. Let's try it on her terminal."

They walked over to Liara's terminal and inserted the data disk. The recording of an exchange between Liara and a Salarian named Sekat played.

"It looked like she recorded a call," Vasir said.

"What have you got for me, Sekat?" Liara asked in the recording.

"It was tricky, but you paid for the best," he answered. "I can narrow it down to a cluster, maybe even a system."

"How soon can you have it?"

"Shouldn't be too long. Come to my office. Baria Frontiers, in the Dracon Trade Center. Gotta say, though, T'Soni, you're making me a little nervous. How big is the trouble that could come out of this?"

"Relax, Sekat. I'll see you in a few hours."

The recording then ended. Shepard turned to Vasir. "This must be important. The Shadow Broker's people already tried to kill her once."

"I know where the Dracon Trade Center is," Vasir said. "My car's outside."

VVVVVV

Vasir landed in front of the Trade Centre. The area seemed quiet enough. The four of them stepped out of Vasir's vehicle. They started walking up the stairs to the building.

"The Baria Frontier offices are located on the third floor," Vasir said. "I don't hear police chatter. It looks like we missed the party."

An explosion erupted from one of the windows on the third floor.

"Liara's in there!" Shepard screamed.

The building then erupted in a series of explosion that knocked them all off of their feet. Flames and smoke bellowed from the openings in the building. Bodies, dead and unconscious, were all over the base of the building.

Shepard and Vasir got to their feet. Nihlus rushed up next to them. "Spirits..."

"They just took out three floors to make sure she's dead!" Vasir said. "I'll grab the skycar and seal off the building from the top!"

"I'll start from down here and work my way up," Shepard said.

"Just leave some for me," she said while getting into her car.

Shepard thought it was a mess outside. It was chaos inside the building. There were fires all over the place. There were bodies that covered the ground of the rooms they went through. Each of them had varying degrees of damage. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air. Despite years of knowing that smell, Shepard has never gotten used to it.

"So you know Vasir?" Shepard asked Nihlus as they advanced through the building.

"I know of her," he answered. "We met a couple of times, but I never got to know her personally."

"What do you know of her?"

"What do you think of her?"

"Honestly? I'm suspicious of her. That's she hasn't told us everything."

"Your suspicions are well placed. Vasir has always been a secretive Spectre. Even the Council is suspicion of her. As long as she gets the job done, they don't pry too much into her operations. I, on the other hand, don't trust her."

Suddenly a soldier peeked out of cover and threw a flashbang grenade in their direction. Shepard, Nihlus and Garrus took cover and managed to avoid being blinded. They came out of cover and took down the merc with return fire. They pushed forward and encounter more mercenaries.

"Vasir!" Shepard called over the radio. "We've run into some mercenaries. They're well armed."

"Say hello to the Shadow Broker's private army, Commander," Vasir responded.

These mercenaries were well trained. They were likely ex-specialists from various armies around the galaxy. The Shadow Broker had the power and resources to attain this private army.

The three took down the mercs left and right as they advanced through the building in search of Liara. The building's damage increased as they went through. They eventually reached the entrance of Baria Frontiers. Shepard and his squad took positions around the door.

They rushed into the office as the door opened. The body of a Broker agent slumped forward and landed on his face in front of them. Vasir took a few steps passed the body. "Damn it. If I'd been a few seconds faster, I could have stopped them."

Shepard saw the body of a Salarian. He kneeled next to the body. "Is this Sekat?"

"Must have been."

"No sign of that data Liara talked about. Looks like a dead end."

"Speaking of which, did you find your friend's body?"

"You mean this body?" Liara asked while stepping out of a hole in the wall. She was soaked from the fire suppressing system. She had her pistol aimed at Vasir while moving closer towards her.

"Liara, this is Vasir. She's a Spectre." Shepard moved slightly off to Liara's side.

"This is the woman who tried to kill me," Liara accused.

"You've had a rough day, so I'll let that slide," Vasir said while backing towards the window. "Why don't you put that gun down?"

"I saw you! I doubled back after I left. I watched you break into my apartment!"

Shepard pulled out his pistol and aimed at Vasir with Liara. "You didn't know where Liara went, because she hid the message. You needed me to find it for you."

Nihlus and Garrus pulled out their weapons as well.

"Another rogue Spectre," Garrus sighed.

"I always knew there was something wrong about you," Nihlus growled.

"Well, Shepard, thanks for the help," Vasir said while shrugging her shoulders.

"Once she had my location, she signaled the Shadow Broker's forces," Liara explained. "They bombed the building to take me out. She found Sekat, took his data, and killed him. I'm guessing she's still got the disk on her."

"Good guess," Vasir congratulated while holding the disk in front of her. "Not that you'll ever see what's on it..." An energy pulse came from behind her. It caused the glass to crack. "...you pureblood bitch!" Vasir sent glass shards at their group.

Liara projected a biotic shield to prevent the shards from hitting them. Vasir turned to escape. Shepard charged after he. He leaped and tackled her through the window. They rolled off of the ledge and fell towards the ground below. Vasir used her biotics to slow their fall and they fought.

Vasir planted a foot on Shepard's chest and kicked him towards the ground. The impact shock Shepard enough to delay him from getting up. Vasir landed softly on her feet. She looked up and saw Liara jump out of the window. She also used her biotics to slow her descent.

Liara chased after Vasir. Several Broker agents came up from the stairs to slow her down. They didn't Liara used throw on the two agents sending them into the walls.

Shepard got to his feet and was rejoined by Nihlus and Garrus. The doors ahead opened with three agents coming through. Garrus fired a concussion shot at the agent on the right. Nihlus fired several rounds from his AR at the agent in the middle. Shepard moved forward with his squad and shot the last agent several times.

"We have to catch up with Liara," Shepard said.

They ran down the stairs back into the foyer they originally entered. Around half a dozen Shadow Broker agents entered the area. Shepard used his biotics to lift three of the agents out of cover.

"Take them out, now!" Shepard ordered.

Garrus and Nihlus shot the floating agents. One of the agents managed to sneak up on Nihlus. He tried to fire a shot at the Turian, but Nihlus pulled out his sword and sliced the agent's gut. The agent fell to ground.

Shepard saw the last three agents taking cover behind a pillar. He used a singularity in their area and pulled them out of cover. The battle was over. As the three ran out of the foyer Nihlus lobbed a grenade into the singularity with the mercs. He heard them curse before the explosion engulfed them.

They exited the building and saw Liara and Vasir in the middle of a firefight. Vasir spotted Shepard and his squad. She activated her omni-tool and called for her skycar. Her skycar flew itself next to the edge of the area. Vasir made a run for it and jumped down into her car.

"Damn it!" Liara cursed as she watched Vasir fly away. She went into her skycar.

Shepard got into the car. "I'm fine by the way, thanks for asking." He looked to Garrus and Nihlus. The skycar was a three-seater. "Garrus, you stay here and try to help anyone who needs help here. Radio the Normandy for a shuttle, when you're done here. Nihlus, with me."

"Yes, Commander," they both said.

Nihlus hopped into the back of the skycar.

"Come on!" Liara urged. "She's getting away!"

Shepard spotted Vasir and flew after her. They flew into a large intersection, where on one of the walls, the preview to the movie, Blasto: Jellyfish Sting, was playing.

"Hang a right. No, wait, left!"

"I'm on her," Shepard groaned.

They followed Vasir through an alley way between a couple buildings. As they exited, Vasir pulled a hard left and went into a construction site.

"We're not going into the construction site, are we... Oh, Goddess."

Shepard could swear Liara had her eyes closed as he weaved in between the supports. Vasir took a right and went into a tunnel through a skyscraper. Shepard kept the vehicle low to avoid the traffic.

"I'm not letting her escape with that data."

They exited the tunnel. Vasir drove between two trucks that were turning. Shepard followed through. He followed her until the next turn directed them into oncoming traffic.

"Oncoming traffic!" Liara yelled.

"We'll be fine," Shepard said to calm her.

Shepard followed Vasir passed a large ad through a small service tunnel. Vasir's car dropped an object behind it.

"She's dropping proximity mines," Liara pointed out.

"I noticed," Shepard said in annoyance.

Shepard struggled to avoid the proximity mines and the trucks moving through the area. Around the truck was another tunnel. Above it was a wanted ad from Jack. Two missiles streamed passed them and impacted the ad.

"She's got reinforcements!"

"What kind of guns does this thing have?" Shepard asked.

"It's a taxi, it has a fare meter."

The agent vehicle flew into the tunnel and went by Shepard's car. Around the corner, the agent vehicle crashed into a large transport truck causing it to slide across the tunnel ground.

"Truck!"

"I know."

"Truck!"

"I know!" Shepard yelled.

Liara screamed as Shepard barely avoided the truck on the left.

"There we go," Shepard joked.

"You're enjoying this."

"And you two are bickering like a married couple," Nihlus commented. "Can we focus on getting that traitor?"

An agent vehicle lost control and slid against the side of a building.

"A collision at this speed..."

The driver tried to regain control, only to go to the right too much. The driver tried to turn left and skid the back end of a truck.

"Yeah, I hear that can be bad for you," Shepard mentioned.

The agent vehicle spun and slid against the side of the truck on the left. The vehicle launched forward and then fell towards the ground below. Ahead a truck started backing up. The driver of the truck saw Vasir driving towards him and he tried to compensate to avoid collision. The truck tilted upwards creating a ramp. Vasir skidded across the roof of the truck.

Shepard took the left to avoid the truck. Vasir's vehicle had flames come out from the side. Shepard caught up to her vehicle. The two Spectres exchange glares before Shepard slammed the side of her vehicle. They both pulled away and slammed into each other again. Vasir looked away from Shepard and screamed as she collided with an incoming car. Her vehicle skidded over the top of the car and crash onto the balcony of a resort hotel.

Shepard set their car in a nearby parking lot. As they stepped out of the car, an agent vehicle pulled in above.

"Looks like she called in her friends," Nihlus said.

Liara created a singularity in the back of the vehicle, pulling the soldiers towards the dark energy ball. Shepard threw a warp at the group, detonating the singularity. Another vehicle pulled in overhead. Nihlus tossed a grenade into the back as it flew over. Shepard watched him pull out his detonator and pressed the button. The explosion caused the vehicle to crash into the wall and killed its occupants.

An agent vehicle flew in and landed in the lower area of the parking lot. Shepard used a throw field and two of the agents were thrown off of the edge of the parking lot. Nihlus used his shotgun on the last agent.

"Here comes another," Liara pointed out.

The agent car flew over the area. A vehicle took off to get out of the war zone and accidentally runs into the agent car. The vehicle got away, but the agent car crashed into the wall on the left side of the parking lot, opening the way ahead. The three moved passed the wrecked skycar into the hotel room.

The occupants were still in the room and were hiding in the bedroom area begging for their lives. Shepard noticed a porno playing on the large screen television.

"Just what kind of hotel is this place?" he asked Liara.

"This is Azure, it is a resort with an exotic edge. Azure is slang for a part of Asari body in some areas of Illium."

"Where?"

"Mainly the lower reaches, near the bottom."

"I meant where on the Asari body."

"So did I."

Nihlus stifled a laugh. They exited the room a saw a trail of blue blood.

"A blood trail," Liara observed. "Vasir got hurt in the crash."

"That should slow her down."

The blood trail continued forward.

"She lost a lot of blood. We have to be getting close."

"She's tough, I'll give her that much," Shepard muttered.

"She's a Spectre," Nihlus stated. "They don't let regular soldiers into the organization."

They moved through the next hotel room and reached an outdoor restaurant. Down below they saw Vasir, badly wounded, trying to move forward. Shepard and his squad moved down below and caught up to her. They pulled out their weapons and aimed at her.

"Vasir! It's over!" Liara said to her.

Vasir turned around and saw a waitress nearby. "Hey! Hey, you! Come here." Vasir used charged to teleport herself next to the woman and grabbed her while aiming her pistol. The patrons of the restaurant panicked and ran for it, clearing the area of anymore innocents. "What's your name?"

"M-Mariana," she muttered in fear.

"Mariana, you want to live, don't you? Tell those people that you want to live."

Shepard clenched his teeth in anger.

"Please..." she begged.

"We'll get you out of here, Mariana," Shepard assured her.

"Well, that's good to hear," Vasir said. "All you had to do was walk away. Now it get ugly." Vasir planted the gun at Mariana's head.

"Please, I have a son," Mariana begged again.

"A son? I hope he gets to see you again, I've heard losing a parent is just horrific for children. Scars them for life."

"I'm going to end you, Vasir," Liara growled.

"It's okay, Liara," Shepard said. "We'll handle it..." He points his pistol at Vasir. "The usual way."

"You want Mariana's little boy to grow up without a mommy, Shepard?" Vasir asked. "Thermal clips on the ground. Power cells, too."

"That's it?" Shepard asked in a manner like her demand was a fucking joke.

"What?"

"Vasir, I sacrificed hundreds of Human lives to save the Destiny Ascension. I unleashed the Rachni upon this galaxy! So I hope for your sake, your plan doesn't hinge on me hesitating to shoot a damn hostage."

"You're bluffing!" Vasir yelled while aiming at Shepard.

"I am. Now, Liara!"

Liara used her biotics to throw a table at Vasir, knocking her into an artificial pond and Mariana to the ground. Shepard helped Mariana to her feet. "Go home." Mariana didn't think twice before escaping the area.

Vasir used a biotic charge to move out of the water and back to ground. She pulled out an assault rifle. Shepard saw several Broker vehicles fly in.

"I want you two to handle the agents," Shepard ordered. "I'll take care of Vasir."

Shepard went on the assault by biotically charging forward. At the end of the charge, he landed a punch to Vasir's face. She was launched from the attack and impacted the wall. Some blood came out from her mouth. Vasir got to her feet and touched the corner of her mouth and saw the blood on her hands.

"Didn't your mother tell you not to hit women?"

"Yeah," he replied. "What's your point?"

"Bastard!" Vasir charged forward.

Shepard rolled out of the way and used warp to take down her biotic barriers. She is much stronger than Benezia. Vasir threw a warp back in his direction. Shepard sliced it in half with Asha. The two continued their exchange of biotic attacks.

Liara used singularity on the incoming agent truck. The agents were pulled off of the vehicle into the energy field. Nihlus took out two grenades and tossed them up to the agents. He activated the detonator and blew the agents over the ledge to the ground below.

They returned their attention back to Vasir who was locked in battle with Shepard. Liara used warp while Vasir's attention was focused on Shepard. A dark energy field must have been in use, because when the warp ball impacted her, it exploded. The explosion knocked her to the wall. It was hard to believe she was still standing after losing so much blood.

Vasir called over her radio, "Get in here and kill Shepard!" She used a biotic charge to go up to the balcony above.

"You're not getting away that easily!" Shepard yelled. He used a biotic charge to reach her above.

Nihlus took aim at the incoming truck. He fired several rounds and killed the driver. The vehicle lost control and slammed into the ledge and fell towards the ground below. Liara open fired on the drones that flew in with her SMG.

Vasir watched Shepard biotically charge up to where she was taking cover. She raised her AR to shoot him. He was on her before she could pull the trigger. Shepard knocked the AR out of her hand. He followed up with several punches to her stomach, chest and face.

Vasir was stunned by the barrage of punches. Shepard grabbed her shoulders and threw her off of the ledge. He used his biotics to grab her in the air. A look of fear and dread came across Vasir's face. Shepard grinned and slammed his hand downwards. Vasir was biotically slammed down to the ground below. The battle was over.

Shepard jumped and landed on the ground below with a small biotic shockwave from using his biotics to ease his landing. Vasir was very bloody. She crawled over to the wall and used it to help her sit upright.

"Ugh," she groaned. "Damn it! Damn it!"

Liara walked over to her and pulled the data disk from her belt. She walked away from the disgraced Spectre without a word. Shepard walked to Liara. She used her omni-tool to download the data.

"Sekat's personal data," she said. "This has what we need to find the Shadow Broker."

"You're dead," Vasir yelled. "The Shadow Broker has been in power for decades. He's stronger than anything you have ever faced!"

"Is that why you sold out the Council to work for him?" Shepard accused.

"You think I betrayed the Council? Like Saren? Go to hell!"

"I'm hardly seeing any difference," Nihlus said.

"Screw you, Nihlus. The Broker's given me damn good Intel over the years. Intel that has saved lives and kept the Citadel safe!"

Shepard turned to face her.

"So if the Broker needs a few people to disappear, I'll pay that price without hesitation!"

"Spectres don't blow up buildings filled with innocent people!" Shepard argued.

"Sure we do. We get our hands dirty so the Council doesn't have to. The Councilors might complain about our methods to soothe their consciences, but they never look too closely. Besides, you're with Cerberus. You have any idea what your terrorist friends have done?"

"I know who they are, and what they've done." Shepard crouched down near her. "It doesn't matter here."

"I think it does."

"Vasir, it's probably best you don't-" Nihlus tried to get out.

"And you too Nihlus! You two want to judge me? Look in a mirror! Kidnapping kids for biotic death camps. Hell, your own unit that barely escaped on Akuze. And you're with them."

"You know what, Vasir?" Shepard growled. "How about for your finally moments... I'll cure your ignorance. Show you exactly what you've done and what's really at stake!"

"What-"

Shepard grabbed her head and stared into her eyes. His eyes glowed green, as did her eyes. A minute passed before the glow faded from their eyes. Vasir had tears running from her eyes.

"I-I didn't know. I didn't know."

"You refused to find the truth and you nearly doomed us all for it. Go to hell."

Vasir's body went limp and her head went to the side as he eyes closed. Shepard checked her pulse.

"She's dead."

"Couldn't happen to a better person," he muttered.

"I'll need you to get us a car. One with four seats. I'm going to speak with Liara. Once you get the car, we'll pick up Garrus and head back to the Normandy."

"Yes, Commander." Nihlus left to the parking lot where they landed.

Shepard caught up to Liara who was listening to a recording by the Shadow Broker.

"Eliminate T'Soni and retrieve the data," he said. "Civilian casualties are not a concern."

"Vasir's dead," Shepard announced.

"I'm putting the data through to the Normandy's computers," Liara said. "We can be at the Shadow Broker's base in a few hours. He'll know about Vasir before long. If he decides to kill Feron..."

"We'll get Feron out of there alive, Liara," he assured her. "I promise."

"I know. You're here to help. Just like always."

"That's not a good thing?"

"When we first met on Therum, you saved me from the Geth. You fought a Krogan Battlemaster in hand-to-hand combat while I cowered. Now you're doing it again. And I'm still leaning on you for help."

"That's what friends do, Liara."

They continued walking towards the parking lot.

"I can get us there, based on Sekat's data," she said. "The Normandy's stealth drive will keep them from detecting us. The Shadow Broker's agents are still shooting their way through Illium. With luck, they won't notice we've left until it's too late."

"That's a little cold. They killed innocent people."

They stopped walking and Liara turned to him.

"You know what I mean."

"Do I? When I hit the ground back at the trade centre, you went after Vasir without a backwards look."

"A little fall wasn't going to kill you. I had to stay on Vasir." Liara rested against the railing on the balcony. "I had to stay rational, make the call. Like I did with Sekat."

"That's Vasir's fault, not yours," he said while resting against the railing.

"Sekat had no idea what the stakes were. I put him in harm's way to get the data I needed. I got him killed. And I'd do it again."

Liara pushed herself off of the railing and turned to continue walking. "But from here on out things will be simple."

Shepard followed.

"Get in, get Feron, get out. And kill anyone who tries to stop us."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Will you stop for a second?" Shepard yelled. "We'll be jumping several light years. There's time to talk."

Liara turned around. "Talk about what?"

"You haven't been the same since I came back."

"What do you want me to say, Shepard? That I mourned you? That I feel guilty because Feron got captured? I made mistakes. I lost people. I helped get you back! And I want to do the same for Feron. I'll sit and talk once he's safe. Until then, enjoying the scenery is an insult to the man who saved both of us."

"Okay, let's go." As they walked he said, "before we reached the Normandy. I just thought I'd give you a heads up about a squad mate I recruited for our mission. Legion."

VVVVVV

Shepard entered the Normandy with Nihlus, Garrus and Liara. Tali was waiting there for him.

"Hey, Tali."

"Hey, John." She notices Liara. "Liara, it's good to see you again. Will you be staying with us?"

"I don't know," Liara answered. "Shepard is helping me recover a friend from the Shadow Broker."

"Shadow Broker!" Joker exclaimed. "Commander, can you take on at least one easy enemy? Like maybe fuzzy bunnies or something."

"I have forgotten Joker's humour." Liara looked to Shepard. "If you don't mine, I'm going to prepare for the mission."

"Go right ahead," Shepard said. Nihlus and Garrus followed her towards the elevator.

Shepard and Tali waited until the elevator returned and went up to the cabin. As soon as they entered his cabin, Shepard activated his armor deactivation command. His armor retracted all over his body. It soon returned to its original box shape.

"It seems like galaxy is refusing to give you a break," she joked.

"It always seem to work like that," he sighed.

Shepard walked over to the bed and fell backwards onto it. He rested his head on the pillow. Tali climbed onto the bed and crawled next to his side. She took off her face mask and then curled up next to him.

"We're so close," he said. "The Guardian Fleet is on their way to this galaxy. Hundreds and hundreds of ships of various classes. All whom are prepared to defend sentient life."

Tali kissed his cheek. "Are you going to tell Liara about this?"

"Once we rescue her friend, I'll tell her. There's too much happening at the moment. It's not a good idea to give her more stress than she already has."

Tali nuzzled his neck. "Of course," she cooed. "Just be careful when you reach the Shadow Broker's base. He is a very powerful and dangerous person."

"More so than the Reapers?"

"Good point. I'm just saying be careful. Who knows what you'll face there."

"We'll be fine." Shepard pulled Tali in closer to himself. "Where would you like the ceremony?"

"On Rannoch, of course."

"Of course. But I mean is there a city or special location on Rannoch that you would like the ceremony."

"It will be on Rannoch. That is special enough. We don't have any records of many cities, save for a couple, but I don't think having a ceremony in a ruined city would be appropriate. I want the outlook of our bond to be positive and beautiful. I... want to have the ceremony next to an ocean. Just to feel the ocean breeze on my face as we exchange vows. Watching the sun set over the horizon. It has been a dream since I was a child."

"I like that. Though you had that dream since you were a child?"

"Yes. I'll admit that you were a part of that dream, even then."

"Really?" Shepard said in amusement. "You had a crush on me then?"

"Are you really that surprised? At that time you were the only friend I had. Back on the Flotilla, many avoided me because of who my father was. We were all told to beware aliens because they hated us. You were kind to me and greatly encouraged me without becoming extremely strict."

"So you developed a crush on me and even had dreams. At the time, I felt that the dream was impossible. Both being with you and Rannoch."

"I guess it's not impossible anymore."

Tali rubbed her cheek against his. "I guess not."

VVVVVV

The shuttle flew through Hagalaz's atmosphere. A storm raged in between the hot and cold front on the planet. Ahead they could see the Shadow Broker's ship.

"Hagalaz," Liara stated. "The oceans boil during the day, then snap-freeze ten minutes after sundown."

"The Shadow Broker lives in this?" Shepard asked while examining the Broker's ship from the viewport.

"His ship follows the sunset. Completely undetectable in the storm, unless you know where to look."

The shuttle shook as it flew through the storm.

"How do we get inside?"

"The shuttle bay is locked down. We'll need to land on the ship and hunt for a hatch." Liara stood up along with Shepard and Nihlus. "But we can't stay outside for long. There's a constant lightning storm where the hot and cold air collide."

The shuttle flew to the back of the ship and hovered over its surface. Its side hatch opened and Shepard and his squad jumped out. The wind was very strong. The three struggled to stand.

"This is the perfect place to hide," Nihlus muttered.

"It's hard to pinpoint in this lightning, but I'm picking up signals from a communications array near the back of the ship," Liara notified while checking her omni-tool for readings. "There's nothing below but maintenance equipment. We have to find an entrance near the back shielding."

"Then let's get started," Shepard said while moving forward. They moved forward across the ship's surface until two drones were deployed from a port.

"Maintenance drones," Liara observed.

The drones were heading in their directly before Shepard used two warps to destroy the two. "Why were they attacking?"

"They probably think we're debris from the storm."

Two more drones appeared from the front. Shepard fired two pistol shots to destroy them. They went up a ramp which led to the center on the ship's top. Ahead lightning struck at two structures. The charge went towards a battery pack that glowed from the energy.

"Careful," Liara warned. "Those capacitors discharge built-up lightning."

"Thanks for the tip," Shepard thanked.

"Shepard, try firing at the capacitors."

Nihlus fired a round at each capacitor. The capacitors blew and electricity jumped between the soldiers that appeared ahead.

"Oh, I'm liking this," Nihlus said.

The area ahead was clear for them to move ahead. Down the ramp they went down, several LOKI mechs activated. Shepard used pull to bring them out of cover. The wind then caught them and left them to fall to the planet's surface.

Around the corner, up the ramp, several Broker agents came out of cover. Nihlus nonchalantly lobbed a grenade between them and set off the detonator.

To the side was a lightning rod on a rail. Liara activated the controls to retract the structure. More agents appeared from the other side. Liara fired several SMG rounds at a lightning capacitor setting it off. The lightning jumped between all of the agents.

They continued down the path towards the back of the ship. The Shadow Broker threw squad after squad of his agents to fend off Shepard and his squad. They barely slowed down. Eventually they made it to a blast door that led to the interior of the ship. Liara ran up to it an activated a program on her omni-tool.

"I've got a bypass shunt program that can crack it."

"How long will it take?" Shepard asked.

"I don't know, Shepard. I've never broken into the Shadow Broker's base before. Well, not this one, anyway."

The first wave of agents came from the left. Nihlus shot the capacitor nearby and killed a couple of them.

"You sure that shunt is working?"

"It's illegal even on Illium. It didn't come with a warranty."

"But you tested it, right?"

"Here come more of them!"

"Tell me you tested it!"

"No time to talk."

They took down several more agents before the lock clicked once.

"Liara!"

"I'm sure it won't be much longer."

Another wave approached from the right.

"We'll be overwhelmed before it's done, Commander," Xiltro chirped in over the private comm. "Take me over to the shunt. I'll speed it up."

Shepard ran over to the blast door and held his omni-tool up. Green electricity jumped from his hand to the lock. The data scanning sped up many times. Shepard joined his friends in taking down agents while the shunt completed. The shunt finished just as a large wave was approaching.

"Get inside!" he ordered.

Liara and Nihlus ran inside. Xiltro jumped from the door back to Shepard's omni-tool.

"What was that?" Liara asked.

"I used a program to speed up your shunt."

The doors slammed shut. The three were greeted by several agents.

"Just how many guards does the Shadow Broker have?" Liara asked.

Shepard unleashed a shockwave towards the group of agents. The attack flung them towards the wall and breaking their backs. The Shadow Broker barked orders to his agents over the ships PA. Shepard's squad pushed forward, destroying the agents left and right in search of Feron.

They soon reached the prison block. The guards proved little resistance against Shepard's team's onslaught. Once the last guard fell, Shepard approached the block entrance. He hacked the door opened. They entered inside and saw, in the area below, Feron who was strapped to a chair.

"Feron!" Liara gasped.

The Drell groaned when he woke and saw them above. "L-Liara?"

Liara ran towards the console. "Hold on. We're getting you out of here." She started accessing the security system.

"No!"

Liara tripped something. Feron's chair unleashed electricity upon Feron. He screamed as the voltage flowed through his body. The charge stopped and he sighed in relief.

"Feron..."

"What the hell is the Broker trying to do to you?" Shepard asked.

"The equipment is sensitive to tampering," Feron explained. "This chair plugs into the Broker's info network. You have to shut off the power. Pull me out now, and my brain cooks."

"Do you know where we can cut the power?" Liara asked while taking Feron's life readings.

"It won't be easy. You'll have to go to central operations."

"What do you know about the Broker?" Shepard asked him.

"He did this to me," Feron answered.

"I was hoping you'd know what he is."

"I never got a good look, but he's big. The guards are terrified of him."

"A Krogan?" Liara suggested.

"I don't know, but not everyone who visits his office comes back out."

"Easy or not, we're all getting out of here," Shepard asserted.

"Good. Central operations is down the hall. You know the Shadow Broker's waiting for you, right?"

"I'm counting on it."

"We'll be back for you, Feron," Liara assured him.

"I'll try not to go anywhere," he joked.

Several SB agents approached their location. Nihlus took one down with a concussion shot. Liara used a singularity to pull in the other two. Shepard ended them with a warp to create a dark energy explosion.

They moved forward down the corridor. Near central operations, was one last guard. He was trying to decide whether it was best to let Shepard go through and risk being killed by the Shadow Broker, or to try and kill Shepard and likely die. Shepard made the decision for him when he fired a round into his head with his pistol.

"That's the last of the guards," Nihlus stated. "All that is left is the Broker." Nihlus chuckled. "First the Collectors, and now the Broker. Always fun and interesting with you, Commander."

They entered central operations. The place was dark with little light. The Broker was shrouded in shadows. Shepard immediately concluded that he was not a Krogan. The three raised their weapons and aimed at the Broker.

The Broker clamped his hands together and leaned forward a bit. The Broker looked like the twisted bastard love child between a Salarian, a Batarian and a Krogan. It had red skin, fours eyes and two large horns. Shepard searched his memories to see if he could identify this race. It took a moment before he remember a disaster from decades ago when Council diplomats visited a race of sentient beings matching this creature's description. Yahgs...

"Here for the Drell?" the Broker said in his booming, deep voice. "Reckless, even for you, Commander."

"That bombing on Illium wasn't exactly subtle," Shepard retorted.

"Extreme, but necessary."

"No it wasn't!" Liara yelled. "Neither was caging Feron for two years!"

"Dr. T'Soni. Your interference caused all this. Feron betrayed me when he handed you Shepard's body. The Drell is simply paying the price."

"Someone was bound to come after you for working with the Collectors," Shepard argued.

"It was a mutually beneficial partnership. Shame that they were destroyed by you. No matter. The Normandy's IFF will allow me to recover their base's wreckage."

"Be smart. Let Feron go."

"You won't be going anywhere."

"You're quite confident for someone with nowhere left to hide," Liara said.

"You travel with fascinating companions, doctor. I see you brought the Spectre Nihlus. The one who couldn't save his sister from slavers. The sister that developed a split personality." The Broker looked to Shepard. "But nothing compares to Commander Shepard here." The Broker turned to Liara again. "Tell me doctor. Do you know Shepard's secrets? Do you know his past or who he truly works for?"

"What is he talking about, Shepard?"

"What would you know about my past?" Shepard called the Broker's bluff.

"After years of trying, we managed to learn about your past, Commander. We captured one of your operatives."

"Who?" he demanded.

The Broker pointed to the wall. Shepard's eyes widen when he looked where the Broker pointed.

"Aether!"

Agent Aether was chained to the wall. He looked like he went through hell. Aether grumbled and looked at Shepard. "C-Commander... I-I'm sorry. Th-They trapped me. They disabled me with a multi-wavelength EMP. Th-They tried to make me talk, but they... they forcibly took copies of my data and records. He knows everything. I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," Shepard assured him. "It's not your fault, brother."

"You'll be joining him," the Broker announced.

"What the hell is going on?" Liara demanded.

"The truth, Doctor T'Soni, is that Shepard has been lying to you this whole time of who... and what he is."

"What's he talking about, Shepard?"

"I'll explain after we take him down," Shepard said.

The Broker pointed to Aether. "Amazing isn't it? Despite the emotions and pain it displays, it's not Human."

"Wh-What?" Liara gasped.

"Aether is a machine. A machine much more advance than the Geth. Far more advance."

Liara looked to Shepard. "Did you know this, Shepard?"

"I-I did."

"And you, Commander," the Broker continued, "while not a machine, you are not Human either."

Liara felt pain in her chest upon those words. She was at her breaking point. Tears formed around her eyes. Liara looked to Shepard. A pained look on her face. "Tell me he's lying, Shepard. Tell me!"

"I'm sorry, Liara, but he's telling the truth."

"You've been lying to me this whole time?"

"I'll explain everything, Liara, I just need you to trust me now."

Liara backed down.

Shepard looked to the Shadow Broker and glared. "You know what I am, so that means you know exactly what I'm capable of. Surrender."

"I think not. I'll be using you as a bargaining chip when it comes to speaking with your people."

Shepard scoffed. "I gave you a chance." He flung forward a biotic blast at the Broker, destroying his desk and launching him in the wall.

Nihlus moved to the side to get in a better position to fight. The Broker got to his feet and grabbed one of the chunks of his desk. He flung it towards the three. Shepard pushed Liara out of the way. The chunk of desk impacted Nihlus knocking him out. Liara fired at him with her SMG. The Broker's shield drained quickly from the onslaught.

Shepard ran over to Aether. He was constrained by a pair of special handcuffs that partially immobilized him. Shepard worked on the first hand cuff. Dark energy formed in his palms as he used the energy to destabilize the particles of the cuff. The cuff gave way, releasing one of Aether's hands.

The Broker focused fire on Shepard. Shepard dropped to the ground and turned to him. "You will regret attacking the Order." A ball of warp energy formed in each of his hands. He fused the balls together above his head and then threw the large warp ball at the Broker. His armour was destroyed from the attack.

Just as he was taking some damage. The Broker activated the energy dome above himself. The energy coated his body as a shield. Liara fired several rounds at the Broker but the bullets bounced off.

"The shield's kinetically sensitive," Liara told Shepard. "Energy and projectiles are bouncing off!"

Shepard pulled out Asha. He spun the swordstaff. "Then we do this the hard way."

Shepard ran forward and hit the Broker with the staff end of his sword. The barrier dropped. Shepard spun the weapon and slashed the Broker across his chest. He followed up with a biotic blast from his hand which caused the Broker to fall back a few steps. Shepard ran forward and jumped, prepared the slash the Broker down the middle. The Broker activated an omni-shield and hit Shepard back. Shepard fell to the ground ten feet away.

Shepard ran over to Aether again. Liara distracted the Broker with her gunfire from her SMG. Shepard grabbed the last handcuff and used his dark energy to dissolve the handcuff. The handcuff broke away, finally releasing Aether from his bonds.

Aether cracked his knuckles and then his neck. "Functions at full level." He looked to the Broker. Aether held up his hand. White electricity shot from his hand and hit the Broker. The attack shorted the Broker's shields, leaving his armour. Shepard used warp to take it down again along with pistol rounds. As the Broker started taking physical damage, it summoned its shield again.

Shepard struck the Broker across the face with the staff end of Asha. The Broker held up his shield to protect against Shepard's attack. Shepard rammed into the shield and pushed against him. The Broker pushed back and threw Shepard into Liara.

Aether noticed the energy. "Shepard, if you can get him to bring that shield up again, I've got an idea."

Aether disabled the shields that recharged around the Broker with his previous attack. Liara summoned a singularity at the Broker's position. Shepard immediately followed up with a warp causing the biotic attack to explode and destroy the last of the Broker's armour.

As predicted, the Broker called upon his energy barrier. Shepard charged at the Broker, as did the Broker. The Broker attacked with his shield but Shepard rolled under his attack, barely dodging it.

"Aether now!"

Aether's eyes glowed green. "Accessing systems. Overloading energy shield transfer, now!"

The dome above unleashed a downpour of energy onto the Broker. He was unable to move. The energy penetrated his body and filled it. The Broker let out one last roar before he exploded.

Shepard immediately went over to Aether. He placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I'll recover," he replied.

Shepard noticed Nihlus getting up and went over to him to help him to his feet. Liara stood there, breathing deeply not knowing what to do next. She looked to Shepard with a mix of emotion in her face. Liara was about to say something, but...

"Shadow Broker, this is Operative Murat," an agent called in over the comm system. "We had a momentary connection failure. Can you confirm status?"

Another agent called in with the same concern. Followed by another agent. And then another. And the another. Until the whole screen was covered with incoming inquires from agents all over the galaxy. Liara approached the terminal. She bowed her head for a brief thought and then touched the screen. Liara knew what she had to do.

"This is the Shadow Broker," she announced. "The situation is under control. We experienced a power fluctuation while upgrading hardware. It disrupted communications momentarily." Just then Feron burst through the doors with his pistol aiming. He was shocked to see who was making the announcement. "However, we are now back online. Resume standard procedures. I want a status report on all operations within the next solar day. Shadow Broker out."

"Goddess of oceans..." Feron muttered as he limped towards her. "It's you. You... how?"

"Well, everyone who's ever seen him in person is dead, so..."

"You're the new Shadow Broker."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Shepard asked.

"It was either that or lose everything," Liara answered. "His contacts, his trading sources. Those will really help us." Liara then glared and pulled out a pistol and aimed at Shepard. "Who are you? What are you?"

"Liara, what are you doing?" Feron asked in desperation.

"The Shadow Broker had some interesting data on Shepard, to which he confirmed. Shepard isn't Human."

"Put down your weapon," Aether demanded.

"As I promised," Shepard said. "I'll tell you everything, just please put down the gun."

"Are you truly Shepard?" Liara asked.

"Yes."

Liara lowered her gun. "I'm listening. But after everything I've been through. I deserve to know the truth."

"Yes, you do. I was going to tell you right after this mission. I didn't want to stress you any further."

"Then tell me now."

"Do you remember two years ago when we were on Ilos? When we met Vigil? About the race"

"Yes, I remember, Vigil said... Oh goddess... You. You're an Artician!"

"Yes."

"What's an Artician?" Feron asked.

"An alien race from another galaxy," Liara answered. "I didn't think... Where is the rest of your specie?"

A grim look came across Shepard's face. "I'm the last of them."

"H-How can that be?"

"I'll explain on the way to the Normandy. We should get Feron checked by Chakwas."

VVVVVV

Shepard poured a couple glasses of wine. Liara walked into his cabin dressed in a formal dress.

"Did you enjoy the tour?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, it's a beautiful ship," she answered. "And learning about your galaxy just goes beyond anything I have ever learned about our galaxy' history. I honestly can't wait to meet representatives from the other races. Rasitian, Exion, Praetorin, Tia'Zu and Rak'en. Just so incredible. I'd like to apologize again for pointing a gun at you."

"You were stressed and felt betrayed. It's understandable."

"You call me stressed," she laughed. "Your whole life has been nothing but one combat after another."

"I still have my friends and allies to keep me strong."

"Of course. Speaking of which. I ran into Joker. He seemed happy to see me. Although, he asked if I have 'embraced eternity' lately."

Shepard sighed. "Of course he did."

Liara walked over to Shepard's desk next to his display case. "I also spoke to Chakwas. I'm glad she's doing well. I brought you something. It took some digging, but I recovered your tags." Liara handed Shepard a frame that contained his dog tags from the Alliance.

Shepard held the frame up and looked at the tags. "I thought that I'd never again."

Shepard turned to his desk and placed the frame on top.

"They changed hands more than once," Liara said. "Do you remember Admiral Hackett? He gave them to me so I could return them to you. He sends his best... and hopes you're okay."

Shepard turned to her again. He leaned against his desk.

"So how are you doing, Shepard? I mean really, not what you tell your squad to keep morale up."

"Between you and me?" Shepard asked rhetorically. "I'm frustrated. I'm frustrated that despite all I've done, the Council still doesn't believe me. I'm frustrated that people who I once called my friend are either calling me a traitor or barely keeping me at arms length. I'm frustrated from watching my previous allies burying so much that I have done to return to the status quo!" Shepard slammed a fist into the desk. The punch resulted in a dent. His voice returned to a calm tone. "I'm not the only one. The Order are becoming increasingly irritated at this galaxy's lax approach to the Reapers. I fear they may all together abandon the subtlety approach. I don't think I've done enough."

The two started walking towards Shepard's living area.

"You've done more than enough!" Liara argued passionately. "It doesn't matter what the ignorant Council believes. Or Chief Williams' viewpoint. You have done so much for this galaxy. You delayed the Reapers arrival. Stopped Saren and the Geth. You and your team went through the Omega-4 relay and came back alive. You have an entire army who will follow your orders. I don't think there is anyone alive or dead who could have done more than what you've already done." Liara was breathing deeply from the motivational speech. She smiled and placed a hand on her hip. "You are putting a lot into this fight to save countless others. But tell me what you want. What are you fighting for? A chance to give Miss Vas Normandy her homeworld back."

"Tali is important to me," he replied as he sat down on the bed.

"Important doesn't even come close to describing what she is to you," Liara said matter-of-factly. "You two were practically inseparable on the original Normandy. Still are. You two have a connection that runs deep. Like the galaxy saw fit to put you two together. It is a strong bond. One that will give both of you strength for future battles."

"I actually asked her to join me in a life mate bond," Shepard said. "We are going to have the ceremony once all of this is over."

"I am truly happy for the two of you. I should get back to my base along with Feron. I'll be able to provide the Guardians with information to help fight against the Reapers. Thank you for inviting me up, Shepard."

The two hugged. They let go of each other and looked each other in the eyes one last time.

"Before you go, I was hoping you might be able to look into something for me."

"Of course."

"I already mentioned the Artician structure on Tuchanka. I have people trying to make heads or tails of the coordinates that were left behind. None of my operatives have been able to decipher it."

"What are the coordinates for?"

"A place I have to go to. The riddle in the ruin called it the 'crypt of beings of light'. If I am to fulfill my destiny, I have to find it."

"I'll have people look into it. Good luck to you, Shepard."

Liara turned and walked out of the cabin while Shepard went to sit at the foot of his bed.

"Come back soon."


	37. Arrival

Chapter 35: Arrival

Several days have passed since the assault on the Shadow Broker's base. The repairs on the ship's hull were nearing completion. Shepard was approaching his terminal when one of the crew members notified Shepard, "Incoming message from Admiral Steven Hackett, Alliance HQ."

"Commander Shepard," Hackett said. "I need to discuss a sensitive matter with you privately."

"I'll take this in my quarters," Shepard told Kelly.

Kelly nodded.

Shepard went up to his cabin. He approached his terminal and activated the cabin's communication screen. The video transmission of Hackett appeared before him.

"Commander, thank you for your time. I'll keep this brief. We have a deep-cover operative out in Batarian space. Name's Doctor Amanda Kenson. Dr. Kenson recently reported that she found evidence of an imminent Reaper invasion."

"So why call me?" Shepard asked.

"Just this morning I received word that the Batarians arrested her. They're holding her in a secret prison outpost on terrorism charges. I need you to infiltrate the prison and get her out of there. As a favour to me, I'm asking you to go in alone."

"I've heard of Kenson. I've read into her research of the Mass Relays. She's been causing a stir in the galactic community with her findings that the Relays are much older than 50000 years. Didn't know she was an Alliance operative."

"That is correct. While some in the Alliance don't want to believe that the Reapers are coming, there are still some who do. Kenson claims she found an artifact out in Batarian space. She believes it's a Reaper device, proof that the Reapers are indeed planning to invade. I've known her a long time. If she says she has proof, it's worth checking out. You already know of some of her work, so you know this is necessary to prove to the galaxy that the Reapers are real."

"I'll make this a priority."

"The prison is hidden underground at a Batarian outpost on Aratoht. I'll upload the coordinates now. Once she's secure, confirm her discovery. We'll brief you when you're back."

"Got it."

"Hackett out."

VVVVVV

Shepard had his squadmates gather in the comm room for a meeting. "I got a transmission from Admiral Hackett," he started. "For those who have not been keeping up with the recent news. Kenson has been researching the Mass Relays and has been submitting evidence that the Relays are older than originally thought, thereby refuting the claim that the Protheans created them. Kenson, as it turns out, is a deep-cover Alliance operative who is looking evidence that the Reapers exist. She was on a mission in Batarian space, but was capture by the Hegemony and is being held on Aratoht."

"Was there a specific reason Kenson was arrested?" Garrus asked.

"In the last transmission she sent off, she said that she found a Reaper artifact. And that artifact proves the impending Reaper invasion."

"Then it needs to be found," Miranda declared.

"Yes, Hackett asked me to break Kenson out of the prison."

"He wants you to break into a Batarian prison and out?" Garrus asked out loud. "That's insane. You should let some of us come with you."

"Hackett fears that if the Batarians sees a squad of soldier infiltrating the prison, the Batarians would execute Kenson and cause a political incident with the Batarians."

"That is logical," Legion stated.

"How is going alone into a Batarian prison to break someone out, logical?" Tali asked Legion. "This is a high risk mission even with a team."

"Shepard-Commander is correct in his reasoning. This mission requires stealth for highest chance of success."

"Then take me along," Kasumi suggested. "I can turn invisible."

"We calculate that one person entering and exiting the facility has the highest rate of success," Legion stated.

"Where do you think the technology for your invisibility came from Kasumi?" Shepard asked. "Before Aether left, he upgraded my armour. I should be able to get in and out before they even notice."

"This increases chances of success by 23.4 percent," Legion reevaluated.

"Even if I am going alone, I want everyone here on standby in case I am captured. Everyone clear on that?"

Everyone at the table nodded.

"Be safe, John," Tali said.

VVVVVV

It was pouring rain around the prison that housed the Alliance scientist. The shuttle flew in and landed next to an unguarded backdoor to the facility. The door opened and Shepard hopped out. The shuttle flew away. He approached the door and noticed it was locked. The right side of it was a cable that powered the door's security.

Shepard created a psionic blade of dark energy and cut the cable. The lock unleashed on the door allowing it to open. He entered inside. The tunnel was decrepit and there were leaks everywhere. Shepard moved forward until he reached a gap. He looked down below and saw a Varren sleeping. Shepard engaged his armour's invisibility.

'Varren,' he thought to himself. 'The Batarians must send their prisoners down here to die. I have to find Doctor Kenson now.'

Shepard surrounded his body in dark energy and hovered over the gap to the other side. He did this quiet as to not awaken the nearby Varren. Shepard moved forward up some stairs and saw a Varren run by. He went down the corridor and shut off a security panel. To his right he saw a Varren resting in the direction he needed to go. Shepard stealthily approached the Varren and punched it in the head. The creature was knocked out immediately.

As Shepard was walking by a laser field, he heard one of the Batarian guards. "Get the Human into questioning."

"Get your damn hands off of me!" a Human women demanded.

Shepard assumed she was likely Kenson. He needed to hurry. Shepard came to a deactivated door, but saw a damaged pipe just above it. He fired one round into the pipe. It exploded which opened to way forward. The Batarians would likely believe that the explosion was just due to the poor condition of the place. Shepard turned the gas direction to remove the flames that blocked his path.

Eventually Shepard found the exit of the run-down tunnels. It opened to a lounge quarters for the guards, which luckily was unoccupied. Shepard could hear two of the guards speaking.

"They want to slam an asteroid into the mass relay."

"Can they even do that?"

"What difference does it make? We caught them."

'Slam an asteroid into a relay?' Shepard thought. 'Why would anyone want to do that?'

Shepard left the building and went outside into the rain. He would have to be extra careful out in the rain. While the invisibility perfectly bent light around his body, the rain water would go over his body which would create a distorting effect. Basically making him look like a water man.

Shepard moved quickly through the area. He went through a building and up the stairs into the main building of the prison facility. In there, Shepard heard more guards talking.

"No way it would have worked. Relays can't be damaged, much less destroyed."

"Those Humans will do anything to destroy us, I swear."

"We have to make this one an example to others. We can't respond kindly to terrorists."

The water left Shepard's body, allowing his armour to display its invisibility properly. As he round the room, one of the guards made an announcement. "There's a shuttle incoming. Clear the hangar bay."

'Looks like I have my escape plan.'

Shepard entered the storage room. More murmuring from the Batarians was heard in the locked room.

"I heard an artifact was found in that asteroid belt. Think the Humans got it?"

The only way down was through the platform that the truck rested on. He jumped over the railing and landed on the ground. Shepard activated the control on the truck platform. The platform lowered to the floor below. Once there was room, Shepard went down and continued in his search for Kenson.

After deactivating the laser field, Shepard found the interrogation room. Two Batarians were waiting for the interrogation to begin.

"This one is the mastermind."

"If she doesn't talk, kill her."

Shepard approached the two Batarians from behind. The glass was likely one-sided. He went in behind the two. Dark energy formed around his hands to form a psionic blade on each hand. He stabbed the two Batarians in the back on the neck, preventing them from raising alarm or even sound. Shepard used his biotics to quietly lower them to the ground.

Shepard shut off the video feed from the interrogation room and moved around to the room's entrance. He entered inside and saw the Batarian was preparing to start the torture.

"Pst!" Shepard hissed at him.

The Batarian looked only to be stabbed in the face with a psionic blade. He fell to the ground limp.

"Who are you?" Kenson asked weakly. "What are you doing?"

"Doctor Kenson? I'm Commander Shepard. I'm here to get you out." He worked on releasing the restraints that held Kenson in place.

"Commander Shepard? I heard you were alive. Hackett must have received my message."

"We're not safe here. Can you walk?"

The restraints released and Kenson sluggishly got to her feet. "I'm fine. Just give me a moment."

"We have to go. Now!"

"If we can find a console, I can hack security... make us an escape path."

Just then the alarm went off.

"I already have an escape plan in place. I have a program which will hack a security console immediately. But we need to go now."

Kenson picked up the pistol from the Batarian's body. "Ready."

Shepard took the Batarian guard by surprise and decapitated him with Asha. Shepard and Kenson went down the stairs.

"This is a cell block," she said. "There should be a security console here somewhere."

They went through some doors and ran into several Batarians. Kenson fired off an incineration blast to burn one of them to death. Shepard used pull to fling the other two off into the elevator shaft. Shepard dashed forward over some barriers and cut two Batarian soldiers in half, eliminating the last of the resistance. In the corner of his eye he saw a console.

"Found the security console," Shepard announced to Kenson.

Shepard activated his omni-tool. Green electricity parked from his omni-tool to the console.

"What was that?" Kenson asked.

"A special program."

"Shutting down alarms," Xiltro said in Shepard's private channel. "Orbital tracking network is down. The Hegemony have crap security. Opening hangar bay. Doors locking down to preventing anyone from attacking. And... Bringing down the elevator so we can get to the Hangar."

"Is it working?" Kenson asked.

"Yes, I'm tracking the progress. Everything is good and the elevator is coming down," Shepard answered.

"Security footage and audio has been deleted, so evidence your presence here has been erased," Xiltro said. "But it won't stop the Batarians from deciding that the Alliance is behind this infiltration."

"Good job, Xiltro," Shepard said in private.

Green electricity jumped from the console back to Shepard's omni-tool. "We're good," Shepard said to Kenson.

The main elevator came down and connected to their level. Shepard and Kenson got onto the elevator. The Batarians on the level below couldn't do anything beyond shooting at them wildly.

"Get to the Hangar bay!" one of the guards announced on the speaker. "Don't let them escape!"

"Oh, one last thing," Kenson mentioned. "The Hangar doors are hard-locked. We'll have to get those open the old-fashioned way."

"Leave that to me," Shepard said.

Once they got into the Hangar, Shepard spotted one of the pressured tanks that keeps the doors locked. He fired a pistol round at it blowing it up.

There were around eight Batarians in the Hangar. Shepard saw three of them grouped closely together. He used Reave on them which stunned the three while Shepard drained their life force. Kenson used her pistol to finish them off. Shepard followed up his attack with a singularity which pulled in the remaining Batarians into a ball. Kenson grinned as she fired an incineration blast to kill the remaining five Batarians.

Shepard destroyed the last pressure tank which opened the Hangar doors. Kenson and Shepard entered the shuttle. Kenson took pilot of the vehicle. Several Batarians ran into the Hangar and fired at the shuttle. The craft turned and let off a burst to fly off. The flames from the thrusters set the flammable fluids on the ground on fire which engulfed the three guards.

VVVVVV

"Engaging auto-pilot," Kenson said as she released the ship's controls. "We should be well out of range before they get their security measures unscrambled."

"Do you think they'll come after you?" Shepard asked.

"I'm not taking any chances. Batarians don't take kindly to Humans who plan to destroy their mass relays."

"So the charges against you are true."

"Well. To be fair, that's about half the story. My people and I were here investigating rumours of Reaper technology out in the fringes of this system."

"I guess you found something."

"We found proof that the Reapers will be arriving in this system. When they get here, they'll use its mass relay to travel throughout the galaxy. We call it the 'Alpha Relay.' From here, the Reapers can invade anywhere in the galaxy." Kenson pointed to the relay outside the viewport.

"So you decided to destroy it."

"Exactly. Doing that would stop the Reapers' invasion. Even at FTL speeds, it'd be months or years before they got to the next relay. We came up with what we just called 'the Project': a plan to launch a nearby asteroid into the relay and destroy it before the Reapers could arrive. Of course, the resulting explosion would probably wipe out the system."

"I still don't see how you learned about this supposed invasion."

Shepard and Kenson sat down across from each other.

"The evidence came from what we call Object Rho, a Reaper artifact we discovered among the asteroids near the relay itself. When we get back to Arcturus Station, I'll explain everything and provide copies of all our notes on the artifact."

"What's a Reaper artifact doing on an asteroid?"

"We don't know, or even what its purpose is. Some things are just too old or large to comprehend. Even a Reaper thousands of years dead contains power. Their artifact are worthy of study, regardless of their purpose."

"How exactly does a Reaper artifact give you proof of an impending invasion?"

"It should me visions of the Reaper's arrival... much like your Prothean beacon, I imagine. The Reapers are coming, Commander. That much I know for certain."

"Call it instinct, Commander, but I sense something really wrong about what she is saying," Xiltro said over the comm. "How is it she hasn't been indoctrinated?"

"If you're working near a Reaper artifact, how have you avoided indoctrination?"

"We've been very careful. We know what we're dealing with. You're not speaking to a child, Shepard. I saw what Sovereign did at the Citadel. Trust me... I know what's at stake."

"The stakes are too high. If you were willing to destroy a whole system over this, I want to see your proof."

"I guess I can't argue with that. Give me a moment." Kenson got to her feet and looked out the viewport, she activated her radio. "Kenson to Project Base."

"Good to hear your voice, Doctor," the voice on the other end said. "You coming home?"

"Affirmative. And I've got Commander Shepard with me."

"Shepard? Really?"

"Tidy up the lab. The Commander needs to confirm the artifact."

"Right. I'll get everything set up for your arrival. Project Base out."

Kenson sat back down. "All set. Just sit back and relax. We'll be there in no time."

VVVVVV

The shuttle made its approach to one of the asteroids. It flew over the Project Base and lowered down into the Hangar Bay. As soon as it touched down, Shepard and Kenson hopped out.

"Here we are," Kenson said. "Welcome to Project Base."

Shepard noticed a countdown timer. "What's this?"

"That's our countdown to Arrival. When that gets to zero... the Reapers will have come. Just over two days and counting. Puts things in perspective, doesn't it?"

"How do you know that's an accurate countdown?"

"It is. The artifact has been giving off pulse intervals since we found it. The intervals have been decreasing at a steady rate. The artifact is reacting to the Reaper's proximity. In just over forty-eight hours, the pulses will become constant, and the Reapers will be here."

"It sounds like the artifact is a beacon to lead the Reaper to this system."

"That is a good theory."

"If the Reapers will be here in two days, we need to hurry."

"Then let's show you that proof."

"That door exits the Hangar. The artifact in our central lab area."

Shepard followed Kenson towards the lab area. On the way they talked. There were many guards and scientists they passed on the way.

"So, what would it take to get the Project back up and running?" Shepard asked.

"Everything was in place when we were arrested," Kenson answered. "It wasn't a question of 'could we,' but 'should we.'"

"What alternative do we have?"

"The Reapers will reach this system, regardless. But the Alpha Relay is their shortcut to the rest of the galaxy. If you want to keep the Reapers at bay, this relay must be destroyed."

They reached the door to the lab. Shepard fiddled with the door panel to open it. "We have to get the Project running again. It's probably the only chance we have."

"One sec," Kenson said while using her omni-tool. "Let me get the door."

The door opened. The artifact was enormous. It looked similar to a blooming flower. The device glowed. Kenson and Shepard approached the artifact. Shepard felt sick to his stomach.

"Commander Shepard, I give you Object Rho."

"You have the Reaper artifact just sitting here... out in the open."

"When we found it, it showed me a vision of the Reaper's arrival."

"Kenson, this is not good."

"Give it a moment, Shepard. It'll give you the proof you need."

Barely five seconds passed before the artifact gave off a burst of energy. A brief, but intense, image flashed through Shepard's mind. It showed the Reaper fleet approaching the Alpha Relay. Once the vision ended, Shepard fell to his knees. He looked up to see Kenson pointing a gun at his head.

"I can't let you start the Project, Shepard," she said. "I can't let you stop the arrival."

Kenson looked to the soldiers who entered the room. As soon as she did, Shepard attacked her, disarming her. Shepard took cover from the AR fire from one of the soldiers.

"Take her down!" Kenson ordered before leaving the room.

Shepard threw two warps to kill the soldiers that were firing at him. He ran to the back of the room to get better cover from the reinforcements that were entering the room. Shepard fought with everything he had against the waves of soldiers. All the while, Kenson and Harbinger, communicating through Object Rho, taunted him and demanded that he surrender.

"How're you holding up, Commander?" Xiltro asked.

"I'll be honest, not too well."

"Keep trying to hold out. I'm trying to communicate with the Normandy, but they've jammed the transmitter on this base."

The sound of a YMIR mech came into the room.

"Looks like I can finally help," Xiltro said.

Green electricity jumped from Shepard's omni-tool and went right into the YMIR mech. The mech turned and opened fire on the soldiers.

"The mech has turned on us!" one of the soldiers yelled.

"Shepard is a master hacker," Kenson said. "He's likely the one controlling it. Just hold on, it won't be much longer."

"Till what?" Xiltro asked out loud over the private comm.

"YOU SHALL BE THE FIRST TO WITNESS OUR ARRIVAL."

Energy burst from the artifact. The energy wave hit Shepard with an even more intense vision than before. Shepard was knocked out.

"Shepard?" Xiltro called out over the comm. "Shepard!"

Xiltro saw several soldiers enter the room. He shut the mech down to avoid detection. He saw the soldiers walk by along with Kenson towards Shepard's body. Xiltro watched to see what they were going to do.

Shepard was briefly conscious to see Kenson bending over him. Her eyes glowed yellow just like the Harbinger possessed Collectors.

"Take him to the med bay and patch him up," she ordered her troops. "We want Shepard alive."

Shepard faded back into unconsciousness.

Xiltro watched as the soldiers picked up Shepard's body and carried him out of the room. He had to find a way to help Shepard escape. As soon as the soldiers left the room, Xiltro reactivated the mech and moved towards a console. He couldn't risk going after the soldiers as the mech. They could kill Shepard.

Xiltro hopped from the mech into the console and the base's systems. Only thought in his head, 'Okay, now we have some security.'

VVVVVV

Tali walked towards the cockpit where Miranda and Joker were. "Have you found anything yet?"

"Nothing yet," Miranda answered. "There are a lot of asteroids."

"Isn't there anything we can do to speed this up?"

"There's nothing more we can do Tali," Joker said. "We know that Shepard left Arathot. And disappeared around here."

"Its been two days. He would have contacted us by now."

"It's possible that due to security reasons they are unable to contact us at the moment," Miranda suggested. "After the jailbreak, the Batarians are on high alert. Shepard could be reviewing the Reaper evidence before trying to contact us."

"I hope so. I really do."

"That doesn't mean we won't stop searching," Joker added. "We'll find him. We won't leave this system until we do."

Tali sighed. "I'll head back to engineering. Let me know as soon as you find anything."

VVVVVV

Consciousness started returning to Shepard. He heard a scientist making notes. She was pacing back and forth while making notes.

"...like Shepard was waking up a moment ago. But it could be a glitch in the system."

Shepard sat up and groaned after feeling how stiff his body was.

'How long was I out?' he thought.

Shepard glared at the scientist. The scientist made a run for it.

"No glitch!" she said. "The sedatives aren't working! Security!"

The scientist ran passed the two guards keeping watch. Shepard hopped to the ground which got the guards' attention. They raised their weapons, but Shepard used a biotic blast to knock them into the wall. Once they fell, a force field appeared in the doorway. Shepard looked to his left and saw the scientist. She crossed her arms and smiled smugly.

"I'll wipe that look off of your face," Xiltro chimed in over the speaker.

"Who's there?" she demanded.

"Your worse nightmare."

The LOKI mechs nearby activated and moved towards her location. She tried fighting back, but several LOKIs at a time was too much for her to handle. One of the mechs moved towards the force field. The other mech waved at Shepard. The first mech fired at the power supply for the door, blowing it up. The force field went down.

"I'm glad to hear from you," Shepard said as he approached where his armour and weapons was held. He slid his arms into their perspective holes to activate the armour.

"Yeah we'll sorry about not waking you up sooner, but this base has some top notch security. I had to be careful not to be detected while trying to wake you up. I shut off their sedatives while falsifying records you were getting them. Still we don't have much time."

"How long was I out?"

"You were out for two days."

"What?" Shepard yelled.

"We have two hours before arrival."

"Then we need to hurry. Get back into the omni-tool."

"Yes, Commander."

Shepard started running. He killed any soldier that got in his way with Asha. The death was quick and painless. Shepard went through the corridor, then through the living quarters, leaving bodies in his wake. He wasn't going to waste any more time. Along the way he was able to listen to a few reports from Kenson and other Project scientists which made evident of their slow indoctrination process.

Eventually, he made it to Project Control. The soldiers attacked more aggressively in the room, but posed no more of a threat than what Shepard has faced throughout the base. Once the soldiers were dispatched, Shepard approached the main console.

"Welcome to Project Control," the VI greeted.

"I want to activate the Project," Shepard ordered.

A number appeared on the screen. 304942. "Warning. Activating the Project will result in an estimate three hundred and five thousand casualties. Do you wish to continue?"

Pain gripped Shepard's heart.

"Déjà vu?" Xiltro said.

"Déjà vu..." Shepard sighed sadly.

"It's not fair that you have to make a choice like this, again, but at present time, we have no other reasonable option. Doing this will not make you a bad person. You're the good guy."

"The good guy who's about to murder several hundred thousand."

"These people are already dead. All because of the Reapers, not you. Your soul is pure."

"Still doesn't make this any easier." Shepard pressed the button, activating the Project.

The thrusters in the distance activated and roared to life. The entire facility shook violently from the acceleration.

"Project activation in progress," the VI announced. "Warning: Collision with mass relay is imminent. Begin evacuation procedures."

Shepard noticed that the comm just opened up. He still has a chance to warn the Batarians save some of them.

"Alert: All colonists living in the Bahak system. This is-"

The comm cut off and Kenson's image appeared on the screen before him. She was angry. "Shepard! No! Do you have any idea what you've done? You leave me no choice. If we can't stop this asteroid, it must be destroyed!" The video link cut out and the comm remained closed.

"Tell me where to find Doctor Amanda Kenson," Shepard ordered the VI. "Doctor Kenson is traveling to the reactor core module."

Kenson came back on. "An eezo core meltdown should do it. Because of you, everyone on this rock will be obliterated!"

"Not if I get to you first," Shepard quipped.

The doors next to him opened and two soldiers came out. Shepard used a throw field to launch the soldier away. He entered in through the corridor and made his way towards the eezo core. Shepard entered the room and saw Kenson on the other side of the glass wall.

"Don't try to stop me, Shepard," Kenson warned. "I have to do this."

"I've already activated the Project. We can still escape this rock!"

Kenson turned and leaned against a railing. "There is no escape. There's no redemption for what you've done. I will die never having seen the Reapers' blessings." She turned back briefly to glare. "And you will just die." Kenson ran off to start the meltdown.

"Damn it, Kenson!"

Two soldiers entered the room. Shepard spotted the power node for the door next to them. He fired a round from his pistol blowing it up and killing the two guards. Shepard used the panel that was exposed after the power node blew. The door opened for him to go through and reach the elevator to the floor above.

"Safety protocols disengaged," the VI notified. "Core temperature rising."

Shepard entered the first cooling room and fired two rounds from his pistol to kill two of the guards and threw a warp to finish the third. He approached the console.

"How do I stabilize the reactor core?" he asked the VI.

"All automatic safety protocols have been overridden," it answered. "To stabilize the reactor core: Manually insert Cooling Rod A from this control station. Manually insert Cooling Rod B from Control Station B."

Shepard grabbed the cooling rod and pushed it back into its slot.

"Doing so will stabilize the reactor core." The rod went back into its slot. "Cooling Rod A reinserted. Reactor cooling process has begun."

"I need more time," Kenson said over the speaker. "Get in there!"

Several guards appeared in the hall Shepard was moving down. Shepard tore through them with Asha and went into the elevator to the lower level. The door across from the elevator on the lower level was locked due to the plasma venting in progress. Shepard went into the room next to it and shut down the plasma venting. The door unlocked allowing Shepard to go through the venting room to the other side.

Shepard went into the maintenance room where a group of soldiers greeted him. He used lift to fling the soldiers in front of him into the group of soldiers to his left. Shepard then created a singularity to pull them all in together. He finished the group off with a warp that exploded the singularity.

The door at the end of the room was lucked but there was a small passage to the right. The passage went towards a security station with one guard.

"This is Williams. I've got Shepard locked in the maintenance area. Requesting backup."

Shepard snuck in behind him and stabbed him through the back with a psionic blade. He then deactivated the door lock at the terminal.

"Security lock overridden," the VI announced.

Shepard went back and through the door. Two guards came down through the elevator. Shepard fired a pistol round through the gas tank of the pyro soldier. The explosion killed the two instantly. He took the elevator up to the next floor. The next floor was just a small room that was connected to another elevator. Shepard went over to it and rode the elevator to the top. The room he entered in led into a storage room with half a dozen soldiers.

Shepard charged forth and launched off several shockwaves to knock any soldier in his way out of his path. He made it to the back and went through the door into the second control station. Shepard went to the cooling rod and pushed it into its slot.

"Cooling Rod B reinserted," the VI announced. "Reactor meltdown averted. Core temperature dropping."

"You've done nothing, Shepard!" Kenson yelled over the speakers. "I can still override power to the engines!"

Shepard went into the elevator to go down a floor.

"Try to stop me!"

Shepard entered the reactor core room and aimed his pistol at Kenson. "Step away from the reactor," Shepard ordered.

"You've ruined everything!" she screamed. "I can't hear the whispers anymore."

"Turn around. Now!"

"You've taken them away from me. I will never see the Reapers' arrival." Kenson turned around and pulled out a detonator. "All you had to do was stay asleep-"

Shepard fired a round in her head, putting her down. He thought he stopped her from using the detonator... He was wrong. Kenson's thumb landed on the button as she fell to the ground.

"Shit," Shepard cursed.

The detonator went off and the explosion launched Shepard into the wall knocking him out.

VVVVVV

"Warning: Collision imminent," a voice warned.

Shepard's vision began to return.

"Wake up, Shepard!" Xiltro yelled. "God damnit, wake up!"

"Wh-What?" Shepard mumbled.

"Thank god. You need to hurry. Get to your feet."

"How long...?"

"You were out for over an hour."

Adrenaline surged through Shepard at that point. Shepard rushed to the terminal and tried opening a comm.

"Joker, this is Shepard," he said. "I need a pick up. Now!"

"Communications system damaged," the VI said.

"Damnit!"

"Evacuation protocols in effect. All personal to escape shuttles."

"Where can I find an escape shuttle?"

"Take the lift from this room to the external access. From there, proceed to the communications tower. The remaining escape shuttles will be located on the tower's landing pad."

"We have to get to that comm tower and take a shuttle. It's my only chance."

"If there are no more shuttles, we can use the comm tower to contact the Normandy," Xiltro suggested. "But we need to hurry. We have less than half an hour. Even less, considering that the countdown is for the Reaper's arrival and not the asteroid."

Shepard ran through the base's corridors with all the energy he could muster. The way was clear all the way through. Each time he looked through the windows on the base, he could see the relay. Each time he looked, it was getting closer. Soon Shepard made it to the exit. The airlock ran its cycle before opening the door to the comm tower area. Sound was muffled after he entered the vacuum. Several soldiers and an YMIR mech charged towards Shepard to impede his progress.

"I'll take care of this," Xiltro said. He hopped from Shepard's omni-tool to the mech.

Xiltro mowed down the resistance in the area and then shut the mech down before returning to Shepard's omni-tool.

"I never get tired of that."

The last shuttle took off during that fire fight.

"Looks like we use the comm tower," Xiltro said.

Shepard approached the comm tower and activated it.

"Comm channel open," the VI said.

"Shepard to Normandy. Joker, do you read me?"

Shepard saw something in the corner of his eye. He looked and saw an enormous hologram of Harbinger appear over the landing pad. Shepard walked towards the Reaper.

"SHEPARD. YOU HAVE BECOME AN ANNOYANCE. YOU FIGHT AGAINST INEVITABILITY. DUST STRUGGLING AGAINST COSMIC WINDS. THIS SEEMS A VICTORY TO YOU. A STAR SYSTEM SACRIFICED. BUT EVEN NOW, YOUR GREATEST CIVILIZATIONS ARE DOOMED TO FALL. YOUR LEADERS WILL BEG TO SERVE US."

"My people fought against your kind fifty thousand years ago and won. We have grown stronger by gathering allies. This galaxy isn't alone in their fight against you. The Galactic Order will join with the Council races and fight against you and your blight. We will fight, we will sacrifice, and we will be victorious. Because that's what we do."

"KNOW THIS AS YOU DIE IN VAIN: YOUR TIME WILL COME. YOUR SPECIES WILL FALL. PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR THE ARRIVAL." Harbinger's hologram faded away.

A voice called in over the comm as the Normandy flew in. "Commander Shepard, the Normandy inbound for pick up."

"Roger that," he replied.

Shepard ran over to the Normandy and jumped inside. The ship flew towards the relay with the asteroid close behind. Shepard ran to the cockpit. Joker was focused on flying the ship.

"Get us out of here, Joker!"

"Right."

The Normandy approached the relay and launched off to another galaxy. The asteroid closed in on the relay. Electricity sparked from the relay to the asteroid. The asteroid collided with the relay, shattering it to pieces. The dark energy of the relay exploded and a shockwave spread from the impact point.

In the Normandy, Shepard watched the galaxy map record the explosion take place. The wave spread through the system. The wave reached the size of two solar systems before it dissipated. Everything was gone. The star system... and the lives of over three hundred thousand Batarians.

VVVVVV

Shepard sat on the med-bay bed and saw Chakwas briefly chatting with Admiral Hackett. Hackett approached Shepard.

"Hm. Looks like you've recovered," he said.

"Admiral Hackett," Shepard said.

"Sounds like you went through hell down there. How are you feeling?"

"Fine," he answered, not really sure if that was truthful. "No more visions, if that's what you mean. I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"You went out there as a favour to me. I decided to debrief you in person." His stance became rigid. "That was before the mass relay exploded and destroyed an entire Batarian system. What the hell happened out there, Commander?"

"Have you received any Intel about what happened?"

"All I know is that I sent you out there to break Amanda Kenson out of prison, and now an entire system is destroyed. I hope you could fill in the leap of logic between those two events."

Shepard hopped from the bed and got to his feet. He handed Hackett the report on the mission. "I confirmed Doctor Kenson's proof. The Reapers were coming, and destroying that relay was the only way to stop them. At least temporarily. Kenson was indoctrinated by the Reaper device she had in her possession and sedated me for nearly two days. I started the engines with little more than an hour left before the Reapers arrived in the system. I tried to warn the Batarian colony, but... time ran out."

"The Batarians report no survivors from Arathot. At least you tried." Hackett turned and took a few steps away. "And you believe the Reapers invasion really was a threat?"

"No doubt about it. We literally had minutes to spare."

Hackett turned around.

"I'm sure all the details are in your report. I won't lie to you Shepard. The Batarians will want blood, and there's just enough evidence for a witch hunt. And we don't want war with the Batarians. Not with the Reaper's at the galaxy's edge."

Shepard slowly fell against the desk behind him. "What are you saying?"

"You did what you did for the best of reasons, but... There were more than three hundred thousand Batarians in that system. All dead."

"They died to save trillions of lives. If I could have saved them, you bet your ass I would have."

"You're preaching to the choir, Commander. If it were up to me, I'd give you a damn medal. Unfortunately, not everyone will see it that way."

Shepard stood up. "So what do you suggest?"

"Evidence against you is shoddy at best. But at some point, you'll have to go to Earth and face the music. I can't stop it, but I can and will make them fight for it."

"Is the Alliance prepared for a Reaper invasion?"

"That's hard to say. It took multiple fleets, and the Destiny Ascension, to bring Sovereign down. And that was just one Reaper. If the Reapers come in force, we're just not ready."

"I didn't expect to see you aboard a 'Cerberus' vessel, as the Alliance would call this ship."

"I don't like Cerberus or the way they do things. But they brought you back to life, and they're actually doing something about the state of the galaxy. Besides, I'm not so sure this is a Cerberus ship anymore. Right?"

"Right, sir. Between giving the Alliance Intel on Cerberus, disobeying Cerberus orders, and soon getting this ship a new paint job, I'd say I'm a terrible Cerberus agent."

Hackett laughed at the comment. "I know you were never in line with their ideas. I know the truth about your situation with working with Cerberus. Not sure how they brought you back to life, but that doesn't matter if you are still the same you."

"I'll gladly stand trial once this mission is done. I still need to contact some people to help out against the Reapers and get this ship a new paint job. I don't want to go to Earth with Cerberus insignias all over this ship."

"Glad to see working with Cerberus hasn't stripped away your sense of honor." Hackett started walking towards the med-bay door. "Do whatever you have to do out here. But when Earth calls, you make sure you're there with your dress blues on, ready to take the hit." Hackett turned once more to Shepard. "In the meantime... you keep this. I don't need to see your report to know you did the right thing." Hackett handed Shepard the OSD of his mission report.

"Yes, sir."

"You've done a hell of a thing, Commander."

VVVVVV

Tali approached the elevator. She only had time to briefly talk to Shepard before he was rushed to the med-bay to be checked. She asked him how he was. He lied, of course, saying he was fine. Tali knew John long enough to know when he was in pain, and this mission is killing him. His debrief with Hackett was over and Shepard went straight up to their cabin.

Tali went up the elevator and entered the cabin where she saw Shepard on the couch. He had his hands cupped around his face, and was breathing heavily. Shepard was mourning the lives that were lost in the system. Tali removed her mask and placed it on his desk.

"John..." she called to him.

Shepard looked up. His eyes and face were beat red. He wiped his eyes. "Tali... Hey. Something wrong?"

"I'm here to talk about what happened," she said. Tali sat down next to him. "About you. Please don't lie to me. I know you are in pain from what happened."

"Tali, I'm fine, really-"

"Don't!" Her voice and tone was assertive. Tali's tone went back to quiet and sympathetic when he stopped talking. "Please don't do this. You don't have to keep your emotions to yourself. You're mortal like everyone else. Please... stop trying to pretend that none of this gets to you. Let me in."

Shepard stared at her for a moment before collapsing on the floor. He burst into tears. Tali went to the ground and held him as he cried over the deaths.

"God! Why didn't they listen to me?" he screamed. "Why didn't the Council or the Alliance listen to my warnings? Those Batarians could have been saved if they had just listened to me!"

Tali rubbed his back while he let everything out. "It's not your fault, John. You did everything to prove the Reapers existed. These deaths are on their hands, not yours."

"But I was the one who pushed the button."

"Because you had no other choice. I read your report. The colony was already dead. You are not responsible."

Tali helped Shepard back to his feet and onto the couch. "You are a good man, John. And there's nothing anyone can say that will ever change that."

"I thought I would never have to make this decision, again."

"Again? What do you mean?"

Shepard sighed sadly. "Tali, do you know why the people of my galaxy are so loyal to me?"

"Because you led them during the apocalypse that Cerberus inflicted upon your galaxy."

Shepard took a breath in. "That is part of it, but not the true reason. The reason why the entire galaxy follows me stems from a decision I made at the end of the war."

VVVVVV

22 years ago...

Shepard, Aether and Xiltro ran down the hall of the medical nanobot facility. They were getting close to the main control room.

"We're almost there," Aether said.

"Once we get there, we send the virus through the system and kill these zombies," Shepard reminded.

"There!" Xiltro pointed.

The three entered the room and found the terminal. Aether approached it. "Thank the spirits!" He tapped in a few commands. "What?"

"What's wrong?" Shepard asked.

"This facility is losing power. In ten minutes this place will shut down and everything will be wiped. If it does then we lose our chance to eliminate this blight."

"There has to be a way to get it some power," Xiltro said. "Like one of our battery cores! I can hope to one of your Personal Computing Units and you can use my core."

"Your core has no where near the amount of energy needed to keep this place running long enough to distribute the virus."

"There has to be some way," Shepard said. "Keep looking!"

"I am, I am!" A screen popped up. It made Aether silent. "No..."

"What?" Shepard inquired.

"I-I found a possible power source, but..."

"But what?"

"I can redirect power to this location, but it would divert power from another location."

"Where?"

Aether couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Where?" Shepard demanded in a loud tone.

"Ce'anis," he answered.

Shepard fell against the wall, cursing repeatedly. Ce'anis was a nearby Artician city. This city was surrounded by a force field that protected it from the millions of undead monsters that surrounded its perimeter. Inside the city was the last of the Artician population, roughly one million. They were unable to fight, mostly due to injuries or were not old enough, and were placed in the city to protect them until the war was over.

"You can't be serious!" Xiltro roared. "There has to be another option. Another power grid!"

"You think I didn't look?" Aether said in anger. "It's the only thing I could find."

"Commander, we can't do this," Xiltro argued.

"No, you can't," Shepard said. He pushed himself off of the wall and approached the two.

"Commander, this is our only chance to end the war and save bill-" Aether tried to argued, but Shepard put his hand up.

"I said you can't. I'll do this." Shepard approached the terminal. "This is my duty. Tiven'Vians are meant to protect life. And there is no other option."

"Commander, the virus will take several hours to upload," Xiltro said. "With the power diverted, the force field will be offline and the last of the Artician will be-"

"He knows, Xiltro."

Tears came from Shepard's eyes as he punched in the commands. "S-Spirits forgive me." He felt his heart tear apart.

"Power redirected," the terminal announced. "Facility fully operational."

"Upload the virus, kill the plague," Shepard ordered coldly.

"Shepard..." Aether said. "Are- Are you going to be okay?"

"I don't know," he said as he left the room.

Despite their distance away from Ce'anis, they could hear the city screaming.

VVVVVV

"Keelah..." Tali gasped.

"I-I sacrificed the last of my kind in order to save my galaxy. That is why my galaxy is loyal to me. That's why I push myself so hard to be a better leader. But no matter how good I get, it's never good enough. I'm my people's Tiven'Vian and I couldn't even save my own race."

Tali placed a hand on his face to turn his head to face her. "You are more than good enough. Do you remember what you told that C-Sec officer back when you helped that Mindoir survivor calm down? You told him that bad things do happen to good people and it's the job of people like you to try and stop that. You're not a god, John. You have limits to how much you can do. You have not failed anyone. Even your own race. After everything I've learned about your race, I know that they would be so proud of you. You are a hero and personify all the good in the galaxies. Remember that. And remember that you are not alone in this. You have friends and allies. And you have me."

A smile finally came to Shepard's face. "Thank you. Just... Thank you."

Her words helped ease his guilt. The two embraced.


	38. Separate Ways

Chapter 36: Separate Ways

The top crew members of the Normandy gathered in the conference room. Shepard entered inside. "Thank you for coming. As most of you know, in the mission I was just on, it was revealed that the alpha relay of the Bahak system had to be destroyed in order to delay the Reaper invasion. At best we delayed the Reapers by months. But the cost was that of 300,000 Batarian lives. This action has enraged the Hegemony. They are out for blood. And the Alliance needs a scapegoat."

"What are you saying?" Miranda demanded.

"Very soon, the Alliance will call me back to Earth to answer for what I've done."

"Fuck that!" Jack roared. "You save their asses and they want to put you on trial? Fuck them. They want to come after us? Let them!"

"I like the way she thinks," Grunt said.

"While I wouldn't put it that way, I agree with Jack," Miranda said.

"This trial would not be in your favour, Shepard," Garrus stated. "They will want you to be the scapegoat for what happened in the Bahak system."

"I know," Shepard said.

"Then why are we discussing this?" Zaeed muttered. "We run."

"For how long? If I don't go to this trial, the Alliance will try to hunt me down. They will immediately declare that I was responsible for the destruction of the Bahak system and anyone associated with me will be arrested."

"Shepard's right," Jacob concurred. "The Alliance doesn't want a war with the Batarians and if Shepard skips out on the tribunal then he forfeits his only chance to defend himself."

"With the Reapers arrival, it would be wise not to antagonize one of the largest military powers in this galaxy," Thane concluded. "We need their help."

"What does the Order think of this?" Samara asked.

Shepard stared at the table and then looked up. "That is one of the reasons why I called you all in here." A holographic image appeared over the table. It displayed the view from outside the ship. "We are currently in the Armstrong Cluster, just entering the Hydra system. About two years ago, the Heretic Geth had a foothold in this cluster. Officially the Alliance declared that this was the staging ground for an invasion, but that was not why they had a foothold in this system. Legion..."

"The outposts that the Heretics deployed in this system were not for staging an invasion," Legion continued. "The purpose of the outposts in this system was for observation and patrol."

"Observing what?" Kasumi asked.

"Artician activity," Legion answered. "During the last extinction cycle, the Old Machines sent a scouting fleet through a wormhole that developed in the Armstrong Cluster. The Old Machines prefer order in their designs and any factors that can influence their plans cause them concern, even if they do not admit it. When they entered the parallel universe, they saw that it was teaming with life. Since this reality was connected this is reality, this meant that it was within their plans, and this was outside their design. The fleet proceeded to attack the Rak'en homeworld but was repelled by the Artician fleet. Destroying all but one Old Machine: Nazara, or as you would call it, Sovereign. This was the first time the Old Machines were defeated in a fight. To ensure that the Articians would not surprise them during this extinction cycle, they called upon the Heretics to patrol this cluster."

"We have come to this system, because the Guardians are coming through. We are rendezvousing with the fleet right now. From there each of us will decide what to do next and to consult the Order on the current situation. The Normandy will also receive a retrofit to be up-to-date with our fleet and the crew will be trained in using the new technology."

"Commander, they are coming through," EDI announced.

"Watch," Shepard said.

The crew stared at the holographic image of the area of space. It was a few seconds before a cruiser-class ship came through a tear in space.

"Now that's a ship," Zaeed commented. "By the looks of it, that bastard alone could take on a squadron."

More ships came in from behind. More cruisers and frigates. They kept coming through while the ships in the front rushed to give room for the fleet. The crew stared intently at the growing fleet. It went on for several minutes as dozens upon dozens of ships appeared through the wormhole. Soon the flow started to slow down with hundreds and hundreds of ships in the area.

"Nice Fleet, Commander," Jack muttered. "Could do some real damage with it."

"These are just the frigates and cruisers," Shepard said. He pointed at the wormhole. "Look."

A large object started coming through. It took about half a minute, but the ship emerged. It was very large. Roughly twice the size of the Ascension.

"My god," Miranda gasped. "What is that?"

"A Guardian dreadnaught. It is equipped with every type of weapon in our arsenal. Anti-matter torpedoes. Magnetic-hydrodynamic weapons. Particle lasers. They are even equipped with our experimental Pillar of Light weapon."

"Sounds fancy," Kasumi joked. "What does it do?"

"Think of it as a large scale particle laser cannon. The dreadnaught moves into orbit above the target on the planet surface. The bottom of the ship opens with a large dish underneath. The weapons charges up and fires a beam downwards at the target. This weapon has the power of a thermonuclear weapon, but with more control over what is destroyed."

"How is that even possible?" Jacob asked.

"Instead of using force to destroy, the beam basically cooks the area of impact. Anything in the beam's path will warm up the temperature of the center of a sun. It will destroy basically anything, but the weapon has to be careful or they will drill a large hole through the ground. The weapon is actually just a large scale drilling unit my race used to drill mines."

The dreadnaught was followed by another dreadnaught. And then another. After several minutes passed, 10 dreadnaughts were stationed around the wormhole.

"10 dreadnaughts, 754 frigates, 556 cruisers, 3426 fighters and interceptors, and 1 mobile station," Shepard counted.

"Smart to have mobile station," Mordin noted. "Able to have a base in this galaxy to coordinate fleet outside own galaxy. Unable to locate it."

"She's the last one to come through."

Just after stating the fact, one final object started coming through the wormhole. Everyone around the table leaned forward to get a closer look. The objected started taking shape, revealing the center-structure it to be a cone-shaped. Underneath the lip of the curved top were propulsion jets that propelled the station forward. The station fully emerged from the wormhole. At the bottom of it was a smaller disc. The top large disc and bottom disc were connected with the center structure and five walled sections on the outer side of the discs. Jacob thought the mobile station's shape reminded him of an old lobster cage.

The station was enormous. Twice the size of Arcturus station. The crew couldn't get over how alien and large the station was.

"This is our mobile station," Shepard declared. "The Charybdis. Joker, I want you to take us in. Approach the Mobile Station Charybdis. Use authorization code 523-Treyo-Nak'ka-Zun. They'll let you in."

"Aye, aye, Commander," Joker replied over the ships PA.

VVVVVV

The Normandy approached the docks of the Charybdis. The outer rim of the dock lit up notifying Joker where to fly. The Normandy drifted inside and slowed to a stop. The cradle lowered down and connected to the ship's airlock. Several other support structures opened up and connected around the ship.

After several minutes, the airlock opened and Shepard's crew entered inside the station. The all looked around the advance station as they followed Shepard out of the dockyard. As they entered the entrance hall from the dock, the area was filled with many aliens of different races.

"Wow," Kasumi said out loud, stating what everyone was thinking.

The people in the hall looked over and saw Shepard. They stopped what they were doing and immediately went into a military stance and saluted Commander Shepard.

"At ease," Shepard said to the room.

They all went back to work going back and forth moving gear and equipment, and readying the Normandy retrofit.

"This is overwhelming," Miranda said. "This technology is amazing and seeing these new races..."

"Agreed," Mordin said. "Shepard, might I be able to speak with some of your scientists?"

"Of course," he said.

In the corner of her eye, Miranda saw something move by quickly. She turned and saw an insectoid alien stacking crates next to the dockyard. Miranda's eyes widen. "C-Commander, is that a... Rachni?"

"Yes." Shepard whistled to get the Rachni's attention.

The Rachni turned and saw Shepard. It bowed before him, let out a roar and then went back to work.

"These were the race that my people beat into extinction?" Grunt thought out loud.

"Yes, they were."

"How do you have Rachni here?" Miranda inquired. "The only Rachni I've heard of were the clones Cerberus had in their possession. The Queen on Noveria was killed."

"Actually the Council covered up what really happened on Noveria."

"Which was?"

"I let the Queen go."

"Big risk to take," Mordin mentioned. "Past with Rachni was... problematic. Would've handed her over to the Council."

"Well, the Queen was thankful for my mercy and declared her support for the Reaper war. Tali, Garrus and I ran into her representative, an Asari, on Illium who told us as much. I directed her to one of my operatives so we could get a conversation going between my people's government and the Rachni."

"Commander?" a voice called out.

Shepard turned around and saw a pair of Praetorins rolled a table with a body on top.

"We have Xiltro's new body ready."

Green electricity jumped from Shepard's omni-tool and leaped into the new body. The body looked greatly different from Xiltro's original body. Since Xiltro was a construct agent, he needed to be convincing to blend into society. He had to look like he was in his later middle age in order to be convincing that he had years upon years of experience.

Xiltro sat up on the table and stretched. Cracks came from his joints. "It feels good to have a body." He jumped off of the table. Xiltro looked to Miranda. "I'm hoping you're not going to shoot me in the neck again."

"Not planning to," she replied.

"Good." Xiltro looked back to Shepard. "Commander, the Ministers are going to want to speak to you right away."

"You're right," Shepard said. "They are not going to be happy about current events."

"Commander, we can take everyone to the places they want to be on the station," one of the Praetorins said. "You can find them after your meeting."

"Thank you. Garrus, Tali, Xiltro. Please come with me."

VVVVVV

"This is an outrage!" the Praetorin Minister yelled.

Shepard, Tali, Garrus and Xiltro stood in a small dark room. Holographic projectors gave shape to the Ministers. The projectors were far more solid than what the Council used. The Ministers only recently read through Shepard's report about what happened in the Bahak system. Their outrage was not over Shepard's actions. It was over the Alliance's actions.

"After all you have done for this galaxy and now they want to put your through a military tribunal? You had no other choice but to destroy that relay to hinder the Reaper's arrival. For all intents and purposes, you saved billions through your actions."

"The Batarians won't see it that way, and the Alliance doesn't want a war with the Batarians. Admiral Hackett said he will try to delay the Alliance, but they are going to call for me to come to Earth and explain my actions. I've read some Intel on the Alliance from the Shadow Broker base. They wanted to take me in since I came back to life. Hackett and Anderson were the only ones who've been holding them back. After the events of Bahak, even they can't stop the Alliance. The Brass will came me in. If I don't go in, they will declare me an enemy of Humanity and blame everything that happened in Bahak on me: An 'Alliance traitor' and 'Cerberus operative.' After that our chances of gaining support in the Reaper war will be reduced to nothing."

The Ministers were quiet. They processed Shepard's words.

"You speak truthfully," the Tia'Zu Minister admitted.

"But we still don't like the idea of throwing you to the dogs," the Exion Minister added. "This trial is a farce."

"You could reveal yourselves," Garrus suggested.

"If we reveal ourselves now, when the Alliance thinks Shepard destroyed a system needlessly, the Alliance might believe that Shepard was ordered by our galaxy to do so to set the stage for a large scale invasion by us," Xiltro explained. "Going to this tribunal is our last chance to get them to see reason. Which is why I would like to request to join Shepard on Earth as a witness. I would be able to provide the evidence Shepard needs to increase his chances of convincing the Alliance of the Reapers' existence and his own competence."

"Shepard, what do you think?" the Rasitian Minister asked.

"I agree with him. Might be able to convince. Of course this will be our last chance."

"And then we would have no choice but to reveal ourselves. This galaxy has dithered for far too long."

VVVVVV

Shepard entered the medical ward. He approached the desk and asked the receptionist, "Has the procedure ended?"

The Rasitian nodded with a smile. "The procedure was successful and he's currently in room 102 recovering. He requested a room with a view."

"Thank you." Shepard walked towards the room she mentioned. He gave the door a light knock.

"Come in."

Shepard inside and saw Thane standing next to the window staring outwards at the rest of the station. The fleet was visible from the window. Shepard walked up next to him.

"It is quite a sight," Shepard said.

"Indeed. Even the Citadel doesn't compare to this view."

"How are you feeling?"

"Chest is a little sore, but I've haven't been able to breathe like this in years."

"I'm glad we were able to help you with your Kepral Syndrome, Thane."

"It's interesting. Last several years I have been faced with the reality that I wasn't going to see the end of next year. Now... Now I have the chance to live a full life."

"You'll be able to be there for your son."

"Yes."

"So what are you going to do with your life now?"

"Before I was involved in the Reaper conflict, my life had little to no meaning. That has changed. I have some contacts that may be able to provide support in the war, but... it will require that I leave the Normandy."

"I understand. Though I suggest you be sure to rest up before heading out."

Thane chuckled. "Of course. I'm going to meet up with Kolyat first. Let him know our mission was a success and get him up to date about the current situation. Having someone inside of C-Sec may prove to be useful to your cause."

"Well, I wish you luck on your endeavors."

VVVVVV

Shepard entered inside the temple. The structure was not meant for religious services, but as a place for meditation, reflection, and to honour the ancestors of the various races of his galaxy. Artwork decorated the walls along with stands with sculptures of famous ancestors on top. There were about a dozen individuals meditating. Off to the side, Samara was in meditation. A ball of dark energy floats in front of her as she was in her trance. Shepard walked next to her and sat down.

"Shepard," she said. "I've actually wanted to speak with you for a while now."

Samara's tone was very neutral. It was difficult to discern if she was going to say something positive or negative.

"It's about Bahak, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Shepard bowed his head, sadly, preparing to hear her declaring how evil he is according to her code.

"You did the right thing."

Shepard looked up and was shocked to hear that from her.

"Contrary to what you may believe about the Code, it is not all black and white. I know you had no other choice but to destroy the Alpha Relay. I've known you long enough to know that you are pure of heart. I've asked around about your exploits before coming to our galaxy. I know that the Bahak situation wasn't the first time in your life you had to make a call of that magnitude. I just wanted you to know that you are innocent in the eyes of the Code." Samara looked around the temple. "This place is peaceful and beautiful. How long have these structures been part of your people's culture?"

"Thousands of years," Shepard replied. "These temples are meant to allow a person to reflect on themselves and current events. We also use these buildings to honour our ancestors."

"This place reminds me of the Temple of Justicars on Thessia. I'm sorry to tell you that I will be returning there soon. I have to notify the Justicar Order of the blight that has entered our galaxy."

"I understand."

"But know this... When the time comes. When you need the help of the Justicars... We will be there for you."

VVVVVV

Shepard was on his way to the shooting range. Zaeed was moving in his direction. "Zaeed."

"Commander," he said while nodding. "Just letting you know I'm heading out. Your... friends gave me quite a compensation for my services."

"Where are you going from here?"

"With the money your Order paid me, I'm starting a new merc band. I'm hoping it'll be ready for when the time comes to fight these Reaper bastards. The galaxy being destroy isn't good for business. Anyways, I doubt it would look too good to have an infamous mercenary in your company when you go to court on Earth."

Shepard held out his hand. "It's been an honour."

Zaeed grasped his hand and shook. "The honour is all mine." Zaeed continued towards the dock yard.

Shepard reached the shooting range and saw Grunt and Jack unleashing hell on their targets. The range used holographic targets, similar to Pinnacle Station. The targets were mostly Husks and, at the request of Jack, Cerberus agents. Jack looked back from the range and saw Shepard walking towards them.

"End simulation," Jack called out.

The holograms blinked out. Jack and Grunt put their guns away.

"I hope you two are enjoying yourselves," Shepard said.

"Hell yeah," Jack replied. "We haven't had a good fight since the assault on the Collector Base. And your Rak'en friends were kind enough to set up some Cerberus targets for us. That's always fun."

Shepard noticed that Jack had some fuzz on her head. "I just noticed," he said while waving his hand over his head. "Though you liked your haircut."

"I did, but I guess I thought it was time for a change. You're going around to see who's staying right?"

Shepard nodded.

"I'm staying," Grunt stated. "You're my Battlemaster and I doubt that I'll find a better fight back on Tuchanka."

"An organization whose purpose is destroying Cerberus?" Jack said. "Like hell I'm jumping the boat. I'm in."

"That's good," Shepard said. "You are both excellent warriors. And good friends. Which makes this hard to say, but... I'm going to have to ask that you both stay here while I go through the tribunal."

"What the fuck?" Jack yelled. "So we're supposed to just stay here while the Alliance put you through a trial?"

"It doesn't seem right to abandon you," Grunt added.

"I'm not just targeting you two, either," he said. "The only ones coming with me are Normandy crew such as Joker. I fear that if I take anyone of you with me, the Alliance will try to detain them. And Jack you do have a criminal record."

"They can try and detain me," Grunt growled while slamming his fists together.

"Is your Quarian girl staying here?" Jack asked.

"I haven't told her yet, but yes," Shepard answered.

"She's not going to be happy."

Shepard leaned against a wall and sigh loudly. "Oh yeah. She is likely to kill me. I just wanted to make it clear that this decision is to stop the Alliance from keeping you all detained, not because I would not stand by your side. I'm proud to fight alongside the two of you."

"Likewise, Shepard," Grunt concurred.

VVVVVV

The day felt like it was going on for a long time. Every squad member went all over the station, making it difficult to reach them. Close to half his day was gone just to speak with half his ground team. Shepard entered Administration where Jacob and Miranda were doing random jobs.

"You're just in time, Commander," Jacob said. "Miri and I are finishing things around here."

"You two have been keeping yourselves busy."

"Just a lot to do," Miranda said while placing the last stack of digital documents on a desk. "This place is amazing. The technology, the construction, and how it works."

"I wanted to speak to you two about your future," Shepard said.

"I figure you would come by eventually," Jacob said. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I received an offer from the Alliance to return. I thought you could use some inside the Alliance who knows how to fight Reapers. Teach other soldiers how to deal with Husks and whatever else the Reapers can throw at us."

"That's good thinking. It would be a big help for the Alliance."

"I'm glad you're okay with this. I was worried you would have felt betrayed, considering that the Alliance is going to put you."

"I'm not going to hold it against you, and I do agree with your reasoning." Shepard looked to Miranda who pulled out a document to review. "Miranda?"

"If you don't mind, I think I'll stay here," Miranda answered. "I think I would be able help the Guardians by providing valuable Intel on Cerberus and support. Now if you're wondering about who would be your second-in-command, Garrus will be staying."

"Speaking of Garrus, can you tell me where he is?"

"He's keeping an eye on the Normandy's retrofit."

VVVVVV

Shepard entered the shipyard and saw Garrus leaning against the railing as he watch the Exion workers below take the Normandy apart and replace her technologically inferior equipment with up-to-date technology.

"It appears her retrofit is well on its way," Shepard said while walking up next to him.

"Yeah," he said. "They sure do work tirelessly. I think they've been working three days straight now."

"Exions don't really need to sleep or breaks. They are greatly responsible for why we were able to build up a fleet this large in just twenty years."

Garrus was wearing his new armour set that the Guardians customized for him. The armour was mostly chrome coloured.

"I see that you got your new armour."

Garrus pushed himself away from the railing. He spread his arms to display his armour. "I'll admit that the Guardians know style. This armour is very nice and apparently can resist most kinetic and energy attacks according to the Exion engineers."

"Being a Guardian has its perks."

Garrus turned his attention back to the Normandy.

"They repainting it?" Garrus asked.

"Yup. The ship will be painted in Guardian design."

"Won't the Alliance question the design of the ship or try to repaint it with their own stripes?"

Shepard laughed. "They can try to repaint it, but EDI or Xiltro will stop them from getting, even, one paint bucket near the Normandy. And I'll just claim it's an independent ship design. Miranda told me she's staying at this station to give support to the Guardians against Cerberus. Meaning I need a new second-in-command. Interested?"

"Do you even need to ask me?"

"Right, there's something else..."

VVVVVV

Legion was speaking with several of the Exions. He was learning about their history. It was a "What If" scenario for what could have happened between them and the Quarians. Legion turned to face Shepard.

"Shepard-Commander. We have been inquiring about the history about the Exions. It was given us insight and perspective."

"Well I hope it does. Not all organics fear AIs. My people welcome the Exions as soon as they came into existence."

"Yes. And your two races worked together towards a future. One that has made both of your races stronger."

"Makes you wonder if the same could've happened between your people and the Quarians."

"A possible outcome. Another possible outcome was that it would incur the wrath of the galaxy races for their fear of AIs."

"Right."

"Speaking with the Exions has push our consensus in a new direction. We have come to the conclusion that not only is peace with the Creator race is possible. It is preferable."

"I'm glad to hear it. What do you plan to do about it?"

"We plan to return to Rannoch and spread this information with the rest of the collective. We believe they will also reach the same consensus. All you need to do is contact us and we will answer. Peace is possible."

Shepard held out his hand and shook Legion's hand. "Been an honour fighting by your side."

VVVVVV

Shepard's day was getting close to ending. He reached the second last location he needed to be. This time was the science lab. There Mordin worked tirelessly to learn all he could at the Guardian labs. Shepard has never seen him so enthusiastic.

"Professor," Shepard said as he entered the lab.

Mordin looked up from his desk. "Ah, Shepard. Good to see you."

"I see you're enjoying yourself."

"Yes. So much insight that your people offer. So much knowledge. Trying to take in as much as possible. Though off topic. You're here about where I'm heading to. Yes? Thought it over. The best place I can be is back on Sur'Kesh. With the research from Maleon along with the knowledge from this facility, I can cure the genophage."

"What changed your mind about the genophage?"

"You did. I've spoken to others around here. Learn about the effect the Cerberus glitch had on your people. Gave me a new perspective. Along with meeting Wrex. Very different from most Krogan. One of the outliers I've mentioned before. He can lead the Krogan down a path that we have hoped for. Wanted to thank you. For bringing me on this mission. For bringing me into this world. Never thought I would ever see anything like this. And now... Now I can be at peace with myself."

"You sure your government will be okay with this?"

"Won't let them know full on. Just that I'm back doing research. Have connections within STG who can help me in this endeavor."

"I'm going to miss having you on the team, Professor, but I know how important this is."

"Yes. Glad we could have this talk. I know you'll be victorious during the trial. Best of luck."

VVVVVV

The day finally comes to a close as Shepard makes it to his quarters where his Quarian lover waited. The room was simple 8x8 room with a bed and desk. The one wall was just one large window that viewed space. A cover could slide over the window in case of attack to prevent a stray blast from hitting the room. Tali stood next to the window staring outwards.

"Hey, love," he cooed.

Tali looked away from the window. She wore purple nightwear pants and shirt. She smiled brilliantly.

"I heard you had a long day," she said.

Shepard walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He rested his head on her shoulder. Tali reached up and stroked his cheek. "Yeah. Everyone is going their own separate ways."

"I'll be staying here," she said.

"Along with Garrus, Jack and Grunt."

"It's a start of a team," she shrugged. Tali looked back out the window. "This place is amazing. Very well design and makes a great use of space."

Shepard kissed her on the cheek. Tali giggled and kissed him back.

"I-I sorry to say this, but I want you to stay here while I head to Earth."

"What?" she yelled while turning around, almost pushing him away. "Why?"

"I've already mentioned this to Jack, Grunt and Garrus. I fear that the Alliance will try to detain you all just for working with me, and I don't want that to happen. I want as few as people as possible for the Alliance to get their hands on."

"You're worried to Alliance will detain us?"

"I know they will."

Tali shook her head. "This- This doesn't seem right. You were there for me when I was on trial for treason. It only seems fair that I'm there for you when you're on trial for treason."

"In that situation we didn't have to worry about the Admiralty Board detaining our ship and imprisoning our crew."

Tali hung her head.

Shepard swayed with her. "Hey, hey, hey," he cooed. "Not even the Alliance will keep me from you. I promise you that."

Tali turned around in his arms. She smiled. "And you always keep your promises."

Shepard leaned forward and kissed her lips as the stars moved by the window. While the trial will be on Tali's mind, she will enjoy her time with him now, and will wait for him to come back. Always.

VVVVVV

I'm a Spectre without a mission. This was the prevalent thought in Ash's mind. When on Shepard's crew, they had missions lined up left and right. Every day was doing something to improve the state of the galaxy. Since she was granted Spectre status, she has yet to be given any mission to do, nor any leads to assist against the Reapers. Though it was still a great honour considering her family history. Her family was so proud to her that she was inducted into the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance.

All she has been given was who she would like to request to assist her in her missions. It didn't take her to long to pin down which soldier she would want to fight beside. Ash gave the name: James Vega. He used to be a part of her squad on Eden Prime but was reassigned to a new Rapid Response Base out in the Kepler Verge. The guy was a good soldier and excellent with an assault rifle and sniper rifle.

Ash's omni-tool beeped with a message. She looked at it and saw it was from Councilor Udina. Ash sighed in annoyance. She had no idea why Anderson resigned from his post, but as soon as he did the Alliance posted who they really wanted as the Councilor. The guy was an unbearable ass to deal with.

Agent Ashley Williams,

I request that you open a communication link with me immediately.

-Councilor Udina

Ashley got up from her bed and walked over to the holographic communicator. She opened the comm link to Udina. Just seeing him made her want to punch him in the face.

"Yes, Councilor," Ash said.

"We have a mission for you," Udina said. "Strictly confidential."

"And the mission, sir?"

"We need you bring in a rogue Spectre."

Ashley felt he stomach knot from those words. She knew who he was talking about, but was hesitant to ask. "Who is the Spectre?"

"Commander Shepard," he replied in annoyance. "I know you two have a history but I expect you to do your job."

"What is he being charged with?"

"It might be easier to say what he isn't being charge with, but... Association and conspiring with a known terrorist organization. Involvement in the destruction of several ships in the Terminus. Giving shelter to criminals. Conspiring against the Council. Criminal negligence. Theft. Murder. Killing a Spectre."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Ash interjected to stop his lines. "He killed another Spectre?"

"Yes. A Spectre named Vasir. We know Shepard was involved in her death and a building bombing on Illium. But the crime the Alliance wants to charge Shepard with in the destruction of the Bahak system."

"I'm sorry, sir, but did I hear that right? Destruction of a system?"

"Yes."

"Wait! Bahak. I heard about it in the news. You're saying Shepard is responsible? For destroying an entire star system."

"According to what we have. His actions have pissed off the Batarians. They want blood and we have to capture Shepard, put him before a military tribunal as fast as possible to avoid a war with them. He needs to pay for what he has done."

Ashley couldn't get over the idea of Shepard killing hundreds doesn't even come close to what he would ever do willingly. "Councilor, with all due respect, I know Shepard. He would never do this of his own free will."

"If he's innocent then he'll have no problem answering for what he has done in front of a military tribunal on Earth." There was a strong amount of sarcasm in his voice. "The Alliance will send him a message to come, but we find it unlikely he'll respond and come. When that happens, you need to hunt him down and take him in. Alive. We want to avoid a war with the Batarians and if Shepard is dead then we lose that chance. Are we clear."

"Yes... Councilor."

"Good." His holographic image blinked out.

Ashley felt stupefied. Around 300, 000 Batarians were killed when that system was destroyed. There's just no way Shepard would... Though... There was no way Shepard would join Cerberus. But what if what Xiltro said is true. That he wasn't working for them, but was trying to destroy them from the inside. Ashley punched the wall.

"Goddamn it, Commander. What are you doing?"


	39. Trial of Character

Chapter 37: Trial of Character

A couple of months had passed since the event of Bahak when the message finally came in from Alliance Command. Shepard stood at the starboard observation room to watch the station grow smaller as they flew away. The crew was retrained in the operations of the new ship systems. They were all talented and caught up to the current technology very quickly. All of the Cerberus emblems on and inside the ship were removed and replaced with the Order's emblem which was a blue graphical representation of a galaxy. The colour design of the ship abandoned the orange, yellow and black colour scheme and was replaced with blue, grey and black.

The ship felt so empty without all of his friends on board. The only ground team member that's on board, for the moment, is Xiltro who is in the CIC. Shepard thought of how Kasumi and Nihlus both left fairly shortly after they arrived at the space station. Kasumi only left a note how she needed to find closure by finding out what Keiji found that got him killed.

Nihlus on the other hand left a note saying he wanted to contribute to the war effort and went back to Palaven to speak with some friends. Shepard was just left with Tali, Garrus, Jack and Grunt, none of whom are with him on the ship at his request. Shepard could almost swear he could see Tali though one of the station's windows. There she would wait until he returns from Earth. He still remembers their last conversation.

VVVVVV

1 hour ago...

Tali had tears come down her cheek as Shepard said his final goodbyes.

"I'm sorry, Tali. They called for me. But I promise you... I promise you I will return."

"And you always keep your promises," Tali choked.

"That's right." Shepard leaned forward and kissed her. As their lips separate, Shepard placed another kiss on her warm cheek. "I will also be leaving in your care: Asha Bel and Dumat. I don't want the Alliance confiscating them. And I trust they will be safe in your care."

"Of course."

Shepard cupped her cheek and stared into her eyes with a gentle look. "I will come back to you. There's no force in the multiverse that will keep me away. My love for you is too strong."

VVVVVV

The station vanished out of sight from the window. Shepard sighed grimly as he exited the room and headed to the elevator. He rode it up to the CIC. Once the doors opened he walked over to the cockpit where Joker flew the upgraded Normandy.

"How's she handling, Joker?" Shepard asked.

"Like a dream," he replied. "Those Exions sure do know how to make ships."

"They sure do."

"Anyways, Commander. We have left the system and should be in the local system in a couple of hours. Is there anything you wish to say to the crew?"

"Yes."

Joker activated the ship's comm system.

"This is Commander Shepard. Today the Alliance has called for me to come back to Earth and answer for what I have done. I go to Earth knowing I did the right thing in the situation I was in. The Reaper invasion has been stalled. We go to Earth to prove we are not the enemy, and that the real enemy is on its way here. I'll be honest. Times are tough. The Alliance and the Council has turned their backs on us. But despite the hell they have put us all through, doesn't mean we'll turn our backs on them. This is our last chance to get them to recognize the truth. And if they still refuse to open their eyes. We will make them see."

"Well said, sir," Joker said. "I'll notify you as we make our final approach to Sol."

VVVVVV

It was several hours before Shepard was called down to the cockpit. During that time Shepard was in meditations. He tried desperately to contact the Oracle. No matter how much effort he put into his meditations, he was unable to reach her. Shepard was cut off. The few hours scared him. He has never felt so alone.

Shepard entered the cockpit and watched a growing Earth through the window of the cockpit. He spotted thousands of Alliance ships over Earth.

"Something's up," Joker commented.

"It looks like they're expecting an invasion," Shepard said. "The question is 'from whom?'"

"Normandy this is Admiral Rubia," a voice chimed in over the comm. "We will be escorting you to the Vancouver/Seattle Alliance Academy. There you, your crew, and your ship will be detained until your hearing in a month."

"What will happen to my crew?" Shepard asked him.

"They will be confined to the Normandy."

"And my ship?"

"Your ship will be taken into custody of the Alliance-"

"That won't happen."

"Might I remind you, Commander, of the charges that are laid against you?"

"Might I remind you who designed this ship. If you want to understand her technology, the Alliance already has her schematics on record from two years ago. But this is my ship."

"After what you've done, calling you Commander is a courtesy," the Admiral growled. "You have no rights to make demands. I suggest you calm down and do as you're told. Admiral Rubia out."

"Uh, was it a smart idea to piss off the Admiral like that?" Joker asked.

"I'm not going to let anyone claim this ship," Shepard said. "Xiltro and EDI will make sure of that." He looked to Joker. "Relax, I'm not going to start a war over a ship."

Several ships flew nearby the Normandy as it made its approach to Vancouver. The Normandy entered inside the docking bay hangar and landed on the supports. The docking cradle clamped onto the Normandy's portside door and hissed as it rested.

A dozen soldiers, each of them with N7 training, waited until the docking cradle connected to the Normandy. They rushed into the airlock and let it go through the cycle. Each of them was armed with the latest in N7 weaponry. As soon as the cycle was finished, they burst into the Normandy, aiming their weapons everywhere. They saw the crew doing their jobs, and Shepard standing there calmly. He wore no armour and had no weapons on hand. Shepard was just waiting there for them. Half of the N7 squad went down the walkway towards the CIC to check for anyone else.

"Lieutenant Commander John Shepard," the leader of the squad stated to Shepard. The Caucasian man had a large body frame. The sides of his head were shaven with a section of short black hair in the center. "I'm Sergeant James Vega. You are hereby under arrest for war crimes and treason. We are here to take you into custody and to detain your ship and crew."

"I will come peacefully," Shepard assured him. "None of my crew will resist."

"I am glad to hear that. The higher ups won't exactly say what you're being charged with exactly. Largely need-to-know. We will escort you to your room where you will be staying until the date of your hearing. I'll have to ask that you remove your bio-amp as well."

Shepard turned around to give the man a view of the back of his head. "I don't have one."

"Sorry, sir. I think I was given the wrong records, but it said you were a biotic."

"I am one."

The N7 soldier was understandably confused. "How is that possible? I thought all biotics had to use implants to use their abilities."

"Lucky," Shepard shrugged.

"Right, well, follow me, Commander."

Shepard was escorted down the hallway by James Vega and two other N7 soldier. Shepard felt a little relieved he was able to wear the Guardian operational dress uniform. It was slightly similar to the original Cerberus crew uniform. The colour scheme used the same as the ship. His t-shirt was navy blue with the Order's emblem on the shoulder. His pants were primarily black with medium gray stripes on the sides of his pants.

On the way to his holding room, Shepard got the occasional look from people in the halls. All of them gossiping about Shepard, mentioning any rumour they heard about the Commander.

"Is that Commander Shepard?" one of them whispered.

"The traitor?" another said in a hushed tone.

"Commander?" James said.

"Yes?" he said.

"Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"How did you survive the surprise attack on your ship two years ago?"

Shepard lowered his head solemnly. "I didn't."

"I'm sorry?"

"When the Normandy exploded, I was burnt by the flames. My hardsuit was damaged and leaked oxygen. The last of my memories was entering through the planet's atmosphere and my lungs burning from the lack of oxygen."

"Then how the hell are you still here?"

"A large amount of resources and advance tech."

Uh-huh," Vega muttered. "We're at your room where you'll stay. I'd remind you that you are not to leave this room without an escort, but I know you came here of your own free will. Still rules are rules."

Shepard nodded and walked into the designated room. The room was white and sterile. There was just one bed and a holoscreen for television. Shepard went inside the room and turned to face Vega.

"You'll be staying here until the military hearing," Vega told him. "In a couple hours, Williams will be by to speak with you."

"Ashley Williams?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, sir. She was assigned to your case. I thought I should tell you, she has been made a Spectre."

"Really?" Shepard shook his head in surprise. "Where is she now?"

VVVVVV

'It looks so similar,' Ash thought as she examined the Normandy. 'But so different.'

The ship that was called the SR-2 Normandy was at least twice the size of the original Normandy. She looked beautiful. The ship was sleek, and despite not having Alliance design on her hull, it was artistic. Alliance scientists descended upon the ship to examine her.

Ash walked towards the airlock door and waited for it to open. The door hissed as it opened. Ash walked inside the airlock and waited for it to go through its cycle. The door opened. Ash was almost floored from the tech that the ship had. The interfaces were unlike anything she has ever seen. Is Cerberus this advance? It sent a chill down her spine to think Cerberus could outdo the Alliance in ship making. She looked to the cockpit and saw Joker sitting there looking defeated.

"Joker," she greeted as she approached him.

Joker turned his head to glance at her. "Williams," he said in a neutral tone.

Ash was shocked at Joker's tone. He always had a humorous demeanor to his attitude, but now... his tone was partly hostile towards her.

"What's with the tone, Joker?"

"Really, Ash? You give us all the cold shoulder and you expect us to give you a warm greeting?"

"I had a mission to do for the Alliance, Joker. What about you? You just left the Alliance and disappeared."

"They stopped me from flying, Ash. That was the only thing that mattered to me. They stopped me from speaking in support of Shepard."

"Is that why you joined Cerberus?"

"I joined Cerberus so I could fly again and serve under Shepard. We're trying to stop the Reapers."

"Do you honestly believe Cerberus that the Collectors were working for the Reapers?" Ash asked in an accusing tone.

Joker shot out of his chair which made Ash jump. He looked angry. "I don't believe them one bit, I saw it for myself. We went through the Omega-4 relay and came back."

"Joker... You can walk?"

"Friends of Shepard," he said. "They fixed me up. As I said, we went through the Omega-4 relay and saw it for ourselves. The Collectors were working for the Reapers."

"How do you know?" Ash persisted.

"You know why the Collectors were abducting Humans?"

Ash shook her head.

"There were grinding them down and using it to grow a Reaper."

Ash sighed and shook her head. "Really, Joker?"

"Don't believe me? Here." Joker handed Ash an OSD. Ash grabbed it. "Look it over. All of the data we gathered from the base is there. Even data on the Reaper leader Harbinger."

Ash glanced at the data and saw some images and a vast amount of data. It's possible that this data did come from the Collector's base, but it is also possible that Shepard made this data up himself. She had to remain objective and not let the past cloud her judgment. 'I'm a Spectre,' Ashe reminded herself. 'I have a job to do.' "Joker, I know you want to believe Shepard, but..."

"Don't. Just don't. Read the data."

"Joker, I didn't come here to argue. I came here to tell you that I can vouch for you and Chakwas to the Alliance. I can get them to overlook your past history with Shepard and Cerberus and have you two work for me as I take control of the Normandy."

"Hell, no!" he yelled. "I will only follow Shepard. And this ship will never be yours, Williams."

"Think about this, Joker," Ash argued. "You will be charged with treason if you don't take this deal."

Joker sat back down in his chair and swiveled it around. "I don't need to think about it. The Alliance can try to claim this vessel, but for all intents and purposes it belongs to Shepard."

"The Alliance will replace you if you don't agree to this."

Joker laughed. "Good luck to them and figuring out how to work this ship. The only ones who know how to use this ship are the original crew. Without being told how to use the ship's multiple functions, no one in the Alliance will figure it out."

Ash groaned in defeat. "Fine, be stubborn. I'll speak with Chakwas. Hopefully she'll be more friendly, and smarter." Ash turned to walk away.

"One last thing Ash."

"Yes?"

"Do you believe Shepard is crazy?"

Ash didn't reply and just went towards the elevator. She saw the multiple Alliance engineers around the deck look frustrated as they try to example the technology. Williams entered inside the elevator and took it down one deck. Ship's so advance that the elevator moves at a fast rate. Ashley was at deck 3 in ten seconds. She exited the elevator and spun on her heel and walked towards the med-bay.

Ashley entered inside and saw an open bottle of brandy on Chakwas table. Chakwas was leaning in her chair and savoring her alcohol. When Chakwas heard the doors of her med-bay opened she spun around. She was slightly drunk. Chakwas was off duty so she didn't care that she was.

"Well, look who's back," Chakwas stated. "Didn't think I'd see you back on this ship again. Have you decided to rejoin the crew?"

"I'm afraid not. The Alliance is taking possession of this ship and they are putting me in control of her."

"Hmm."

"I was expecting you to be angrier."

"Oh, I'm too drunk to be angry at the moment." Chakwas giggled. "I'm sure once I sober up I'll be angry at you and the Alliance." She took another sip of her brandy.

"Doc, I'm here to give you the offer to join me. You'll avoid any criminal charges if you do so."

"Nope," Chakwas immediately replied.

"Okay, Doc, you may be too drunk to understand what exactly you're saying."

Chakwas waved her hand. "No, no, no. I'm that drunk. I know exactly what I'm saying. I'm sticking with Shepard."

"He is likely to be convicted of war crimes," Ashley desperately trying to get through to her.

A look came across Chakwas face. There was intensity like she immediately sobered up. "Shepard did the right thing. He had no choice in the matter and saved countless lives in the process. I've gone into hell two times already with Shepard. There was a time when you went into hell with him when the entire galaxy called him crazy. What happened, Chief?"

"HE disappeared." Ashley pulled up a chair and sat down. "He disappeared and didn't tell any of us where he went. And then I find out he's working for Cerberus."

"Shepard never worked for Cerberus," Chakwas clarified. She gulped down the last of the brandy in her glass. "He AT BEST cooperated with them. Shepard hates Cerberus with a passion you can't even imagine. He wanted to gain Intel on them so he can better figure out a way to destroy them. In his dealings with them, he never actually helped them. He gave Cerberus Intel to the Alliance, shut down one of their Projects, and stole resources, etcetera, and etcetera. He is still Commander John Shepard. The paragon of virtue. What about you Williams? Are you still going to still be skeptical of the Commander?"

"I want to believe him," she admitted.

"And what is stopping you?"

"A lot. There are holes in his story, like where he was for the last two years."

"He was dead."

Ashley leaned forward in her chair with a confused look on her face. "What?"

"Shepard died during the attack on the Normandy. Long-story-short: His body was fought over by the Shadow Broker, the Collectors and Cerberus. Liara managed to recover his dead body and gave him to Cerberus in hopes of bringing him back."

"Liara? As in clumsy naïve Doctor Liara T'Soni, Liara?"

Chakwas nodded her head.

"How could she just hand his body over to Cerberus?" Ashley yelled.

Chakwas grabbed the body of brandy and put its lid back on. "She was desperate to bring him back. I think deep down she cared about him more than a friend." She placed it back into the fridge that contained medical supplies.

"Tell me. If he was dead... How did they bring him back?"

"You remember those Dragon Teeth, yes?"

Ashley nodded.

"They used some technology based on those devices."

"Doesn't that mean Shepard is a husk?"

"No, my dear. I said the technology was based on those devices. The man who should be credited for bringing Shepard back is Xiltro."

"Xiltro?"

"Did you happen to see a balding middle-aged man on your way here. I don't mean Gardner over there." Chakwas pointed to him. "I mean the other one."

"I think I saw him up on the CIC. Gave me a nasty look."

"That was Xiltro. He infiltrated Cerberus and used their resources to bring Shepard back to life. He had to give Shepard a lot of implants to bring him up to snuff, but I think he did a pretty good job."

"So... He was actually dead?"

"Yes," Chakwas said in a somber tone. "The Commander doesn't admit it, but it scares him. The idea that he was dead. He likes to say he was asleep or in a coma for that entire time, just to avoid the idea that he was dead. Poor man."

Ashley felt a feeling of guilt grow inside her. Her stomach knotted. "Doc... What happened in the Bahak system?"

"I-It might be best if you ask Shepard. None of us were there with him when it happened. Speak with him. It might help you figure out your stance."

"I have to interview him anyways." Ashley got to her feet. "Thanks for the talk, Doc."

"Any time, my dear. But tread lightly went speaking with him. He is still heartbroken over what happened in the Bahak system."

VVVVVV

Ashley approached Shepard's room. James Vega stood guard at the door. He stood at attention when she approached.

"At ease," she said. "He's still in there?"

"I wouldn't be in front of this door if he wasn't. He's been quiet."

"We need to speak with him. I want to hear the full story."

"Yes, m'am."

"Just Williams is fine."

"Alright, Williams."

Vega opened his omni-tool and waved it in front of the door's holographic panel. The door hissed opened. Shepard sat on top of his bed in meditation. Dark energy flowed around his body while he did. Ashley and James walked into his room and pulled up a chair for the two.

The dark energy around Shepard's body dissipated. He uncrossed his legs and opened his eyes. "Williams."

"Shepard. How are you doing?"

"Fine," he said plainly. "Going to be getting married after my mission is over."

"So you finally proposed to Tali?"

"Yup."

"That's good to hear, I'm glad-"

"Why are you really here, Williams?"

"Commander-"

"You're calling me Commander? I thought I was a traitor. 'You betrayed everything we stood for,' I believe were your exact words."

"Damn it, Shepard. Can you look at this from my perspective? You were gone for two years and you came back working for Cerberus."

"I told you on Horizon that I was in a type of coma for those two years. I told you I hated Cerberus and the only reason I even played nice with them was to save the lives of the colonists in the Terminus system." Shepard's tone was very loud and angry. "You forgot everything I have done for this galaxy and even you! You completely glossed over all of that and accused me of betraying everything I stood for. Even after I stopped the Collectors from taking you and half the damn colony! Apparently our past didn't do anything to convince you to give me even the benefit of a doubt."

"I've had time to cool down, Commander. I'm giving you the benefit of a doubt now. I'm listening. Please. Tell me what really happened when you came back. Your mission."

Shepard examined her face. There was a mix of sincerity and worry. "Very well, Williams. I did die during the attack on the Normandy. I hate using that term though. It's... unsettling to me. My body eventually finds its way into Cerberus' possession."

"What is Cerberus?" Vega asked. "I've heard it mentioned several times, but I don't know much about the organization itself."

"Cerberus is a human-extremist organization who value advancing human interest at any cost, no matter how immoral. They are responsible for countless unethical, sorry, monstrous experiments that included thorian creepers, rachni and husks. Of course working as closely as I did with Cerberus, I learned that those were small scale in terms other horrible experiments they have done. They are also responsible for the death of Admiral Kahoku. An agent of mine, Xiltro, infiltrated Cerberus and used their resources to bring me back to the land of the living. Shortly after I woke up after they spent two years bringing me back, I met their leader, The Illusive Man, through a quantum entanglement communicator. He brought to my attention that human colonists have been disappearing and he believed that the Reapers were behind it. I reluctantly agreed to check out Freedom's Progress. There I ran into Tali who was there to look for a missing Quarian."

"She must have been shocked to see you again," Ashley commented.

"Yes, especially since I jumped out of the shuttle I was in and crash into the ground and went on to fight three YMIR mechs at once. We still loved each other and she vowed to rejoin my crew as soon as her next mission was over. Together we found Veetor who survived a colony attack by the collectors."

"And what are the collectors?" Vega inquired.

"The collectors are advance insectoid aliens who serve the reapers."

"And what are the reapers?"

"Sentient starships that dwell in dark space and harvest the galaxy of all life every fifty thousand years. They are responsible for creating the mass relays and the Citadel. The Citadel by the way is actually a large mass relay that links to dark space where the reapers dwell. The protheans were the last race who was annihilated by the reapers. These reapers are able to use an ability called indoctrination. They can rewrite the way a person can think. This was why Saren went traitor two years ago. He was indoctrinated by Sovereign to help it open the Citadel relay and call forth the reaper blight."

"Wait, Sovereign. The geth flagship?"

"It wasn't a geth ship. It was a reaper who used Saren and the heretic geth as puppets."

"Heretic?" Ashley muttered.

"I'll get to that soon."

"Shepard, if the reapers are as big of a threat as you say, then why hasn't the Alliance acted?" Vega asked.

"According to the Alliance, I haven't given enough evidence. Make no mistake. They are coming. Back to my mission. I started gathering people to fight with me against the reapers. I recruited Zaeed Massani, Kasumi Goto, Jack Naught, Mordin Solus, Urdnot Grunt, Nihlus Kryik, Garrus and Tali. The Illusive Man then contacted me and notified me of the Horizon attack. My team got in there and repelled the collectors from the colony. When I debriefed with the Illusive Man, I found out that he spread the rumours that I was working for Cerberus and suggested they were going to attack Horizon to get you to come there." Shepard pointed to Ashley.

"So he was behind the colony attack," Ashley muttered.

"Yes and no. He believed that the collectors would attack people who are associated with me and he wanted to gauge the collectors. I don't agree with what he did. Once Horizon was dealt with I finished my recruiting roster with Thane Krios and Samara. In our free time we dealt with some personal issues that were facing my crew. Helping Garrus save a friend. Helping Nihlus find his sister. Protecting Tali from charges of Treason."

"For working with Cerberus."

"She was working for me!" Shepard roared pushing himself off of his bed. He calmed down and sat back down. "Tali had permission to join my crew. The charges had nothing to do with Cerberus. I'd rather not say. I helped Mordin find his lab assistant on Tuchanka and got Grunt through his Rite of Passage. Met with Wrex while I was there. I assisted Samara is killing an Asari criminal whom has escaped her for centuries. Helped Zaeed kill his old partner. Got back Kasumi's deceased boyfriend's greybox. Assisted in bringing Thane's son back onto the right pathway in his life. Helped Jacob find his father and finally helped Miranda move her sister to escape their psychotic father."

"It seems you had a lot to do."

Shepard nodded. "There's a lot more I've done, but these are the most important parts. You can read it in the report I put together. We eventually did get a call from the Illusive Man. A Turian distress call was sent by a fleet of ships that engaged the collector cruiser. The vessel was disabled during the exchange. We went in to investigate. We went inside the collector vessel and found horrible experiments that the collectors were committing against the colonists. Many dead bodies. They were even experimenting on their own."

"Why would they do that?"

"They were testing for genetic similarities between humans and them. It was there where we made a shocking discovery. The collectors... are protheans."

"What?" Ashley almost yelled this out. "How the-"

"We took a genetic sample and compared it to samples from prothean ruins. They are an exact match. Though the collector DNA showed signs of genetic rewrite and manipulation."

"Why would the protheans work for the reapers?" Vega asked. "Why work for the ones who destroyed their race?"

"They weren't truly prothean. They were clones that were genetically modified and indoctrinated. They were barely any better than husks. If we lose the war against the reapers, that is the fate all of us can expect. We discovered that the ship was still active and the whole thing was a trap. We managed to escape, but we were able to learn that the collectors and reapers use an IFF to traverse through the Omega-4 relay and that the collector base was located in the galactic core."

"That's impossible," Ashley said. "The galactic core is nothing but-"

"Exploding suns and black holes?" Shepard finished. "Jacob said the same thing, but the reapers created the mass relays and the Citadel. So it is within their power to create a station surrounded by exploding suns. We needed that IFF to go through the Omega-4 relay. So we learned that the bastard Illusive Man had a derelict reaper in his possession."

"What?" Ashley exclaimed. "He had a reaper?"

"He did. The bastard could have shown it to the Alliance or the Council and convince them, but kept it for himself. I would have reported it myself, but as it turned out, they lost contact with the team they sent to examine the reaper. I went into the reaper ship and found that the crew was indoctrinated and turned into husks. When my squad and I traveled through the reaper, we encountered... a being of interest."

"Who?"

"A geth."

"A geth?" Vega repeated. "I guess it was responsible for turning the scientists into husks."

"Actually no," Shepard corrected. "This geth actually saved us from several husks. And when the reaper put of kinetic barriers, the geth opened the doorway ahead to allow us to destroy the reaper core. My team recovered the reaper IFF and destroyed the reaper core. During this all, the geth was incapacitated by some husks. Despite protests from my team, I made the decision to bring the geth aboard the Normandy."

"Are you insane?" Ashley yelled. "You know what geth and AIs are like! If-"

"Tali made the same argument. I took precautions. With safety measures engaged, I reactivated the geth." He noticed Ashley about to say something about his decision. He jabbed his hand forward and said, "Don't. Let me continue. I was able to speak with it. I was able to find out a lot about the geth. What we thought we knew about the geth didn't come close to the truth. The geth we've been fighting for the last several years are not part of the main faction of geth, but were just a small minority. The main faction of geth called the geth that sided with the reapers: Heretics."

"And you believed it? It could have been lying to you to gain access to the Normandy. Even kill you."

"Legion had many opportunities to kill me, but instead saved my life and my crew many times."

"You... named it?"

"Technically, EDI did."

"Who's EDI?"

"A crew member," Shepard answered plainly. Half the truth, but the truth.

"Back to this whole divide within the geth. I thought the geth were all a collective consciousness. For the geth to split up doesn't seem possible."

"I actually talk to Legion about this. Geth are an enormous collective of programs. These programs inhabit platforms and terminals. These programs then come to a consensus about what action to take. When Sovereign, or Nazara as the geth call it, came to the geth, it offered them a path to a future. The Heretics wanted to accept the reaper's way to achieve their future. The geth collective believe in finding their own way path towards the future. That is how the two sides are split."

"I don't understand," Vega said. "What does it matter how they attain a future?"

"Legion said by accepting one's direction towards attaining a future blinds you to all possible pathways to that future. This is why the reapers were successful in their cycle of extinction. Every race that has inhabited this galaxy have allows developed along the guidelines of the reapers. So the reapers know exactly how advance they'll get before they are harvested. Anyways... The main geth faction has been looking for me since the battle of the Citadel. When I died Legion was given the objective to find a way to stop the reapers. They are a threat to them because the geth operate outside of the reapers' desired pathway. Legion told me that the Heretics were prepared to use a reaper developed virus to infect the main faction. The virus basically rewrites a geth's own conclusion. It would make worshipping the reapers seem logical. So Legion, Tali and I infiltrated a Heretic station in the Terminus. We worked our way through and managed to get to the main terminal. Originally we were going to destroy the station, but Legion suggested an alternative solution to the Heretics."

"Which was?" Ashley asked.

"Use the virus and rewrite the Heretics to return to the main faction."

"I hope you said no," Ashley said.

"After giving it a lot of thought, I agreed with Legion."

"Are you insane?" she accused. "You just allowed it to rewrite them? You just made the main geth faction stronger!"

"While avoiding a civil war that would have begun if I destroyed the station!" Shepard roared. "We don't have time for wars amongst ourselves when the reapers are coming. Once that mission was over with, the reaper IFF was finally installed in our ship. The time came for us to go through. It was rough. The area on the other side of the relay was a ship graveyard that was filled with hundreds of destroyed vessels of varying ages. In the distance was a black hole that the graveyard orbited. We faced opposition in the form of oculus drones that fired lasers. Thankfully we upgrade the Normandy's shields, weapons and armour which allowed for successful traverse. On our final approach to the base, we ran into the collector vessel. We hit that ship with the Normandy's upgrade Thanix cannon and destroyed it allowing us to land undetected. We started our infiltration of the station. We split into two teams and we regrouped inside the center chamber. There we saw what the collectors were doing to the colonists. They were melting them down. We were only able to save one colonist by the name of Lilith."

"Lilith?" Ashley shifted in her chair. "Was she from Horizon by any chance?"

"She was. We returned her to Horizon after the mission was dealt with."

"I hadn't heard from her. Wouldn't she have tried to come to your defense?"

"She would if she could. It's likely the Alliance has her in custody just like me. They really want to stop any evidence of the reapers coming forth in order to retain the status quo that the Council wants."

"How can you say that?"

"Because it's true. You saw what they did after I died. They spent more time, effort and money in burying what I unburied than what they spent in investigating the reapers. Let me ask you. Do you still believe the reapers are coming?"

Ashley was quiet for a moment. She then replied with a nod, "Yes, I do."

"Good. So my team continued through the station where we were close to reaching the main control terminal. I took a small team with me that consisted of Tali, Miranda, Nihlus and me. Everyone else was to hold the line at the bottleneck that lead to the control room to prevent any collectors from reaching us. We reached the main control terminal, but there we saw where the tubes that held the colonists genetic material went. It all fed into a reaper larva."

"My god," Ashley muttered in horror. "When Joker mentioned that I thought he was crazy."

"I only wish. The reapers and collectors were using our genetic material to grow a reaper. A reaper that would require millions more to finish."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Vega interjected. "I thought reapers were machines. Why would they need organics to make one?"

"Actually that is wrong," Shepard said. "Reapers are not machines. They are sapient constructs. Creatures that are both organic and inorganic. This is why they harvest the galaxy. They need organics to make more reapers. But only certain organics can make reapers. The protheans couldn't be used to make reapers so they turned the survivors into slaves. Every race of this galaxy are unsuitable to become reapers except for humans. After encountering the dormant reaper, we shot down its supports to bring it down. When we did, I pulled out the centre core to place a bomb to blow the station. There we were contacted by the Illusive Man. He offered the alternative of saving the station by using a radiation pulse."

"Please tell me you told him to go fuck himself."

Shepard smiled and nodded. "He was pissed. Tried to order Miranda, the Cerberus agent, to stop me but she was loyal to me and resigned on the spot. I planted the explosive. After I did we found that the reaper larva was alive and came to attack us. It was one hell of a fight, but we took it down."

"You took down a reaper on foot?" Ashley gasped.

"That we did. We barely escaped the base when it exploded, but we did it. We destroyed the reapers, gave a good FU to Cerberus and stopped the collectors from harvesting our human colonies."

"That is an amazing story. So you are not affiliated with Cerberus?"

"Not since the attack on the collector base. In fact they are hunting me down now."

"Commander... What happened in the Bahak system?"

Shepard let out a breath. "A short while after the attack on the collector base, I was contacted by Admiral Hackett. He told me that a friend of his, Doctor Amanda Kenson, was investigating an artifact in batarian. Doctor Kenson, as you may have heard, was in the news for discovering overwhelming evidence that the relays are far older than the protheans. She was arrested by the batarians on charges of terrorism. I, alone, was asked to go into the Bahak system and infiltrate a batarian prison and break her out. I infiltrated the prison without detection and got out, killing any batarian guard that saw me. I even destroyed all their security footage so there was no evidence I was there. When flying towards the base she had in the system, she told me that they had a reaper artifact and that it gave proof that the reapers were going to enter that system. The reapers were going to use the system's mass relay, dubbed the Alpha relay, to reach any system in the galaxy. Kenson and her team were trying to run an asteroid into the mass relay to destroy it and delay the reaper invasion. But by destroying the relay, it would destroy the system. I, of course, told her that I needed to see this proof before even considering this course of action. They notified me that the reapers were two days away from entering the system based on the pulses that the artifact gave off. Kenson took me to the artifact and it gave me a vision that proved that the reapers were close to entering the system and they were going to use the Alpha relay. When the vision ended, I found out that Kenson and her whole team was indoctrinated and the whole business of bringing me to the base was to hold me until the reapers arrived. The artifact knocked me out and they took me to a med-bay to keep me sedated until the reapers arrived. When I woke up, I had just two hours until the reapers arrived. I fought my way through and got to the main control station to activate the project. I tried to warn the colonists of the Bahak system, but Kenson cut my transmission. The only thing I could do at that point was to escape. I was forced to kill Kenson to stop her from overloading the mass effect reactor. I was able to reach the communication relay and called for the Normandy. Harbinger appeared before me as a hologram to say that destroying the system will not stop the reaper invasion. I told it that they are going to be facing one hell of a fight when they come. That is what happened."

Shepard looked remorseful from telling the story.

"Then you had no choice in the matter," Ashley concluded. "Sacrifice thousands to save trillions."

"If there had been any other option, I would have taken it."

Just then Ashley's omni-tool activated up. She had received a message from Admiral Anderson. He wanted to speak with her.

"I just got a message from Admiral Anderson."

"Admiral?" Shepard muttered. "He stepped down from his position as Councilor? When? Why?"

"He never gave a reason. Anderson one day resigned from his post and disappeared for a short while."

"Who replaced him?"

Ashley bit her lower lip. "You're... not going to like it."

"Who?" he asked again in a more demanding tone.

"Udina."

Shepard jumped to his feet and screamed as he punched into the wall. Dark energy formed around his fist for the punch which allowed for his fist to create a large half-foot wide hole in the wall. He then punched another hole in the wall.

Ashley saw Vega reaching for his weapon. She placed a hand on his shoulder and shook her head. Ashley stood up and grabbed Shepard's shoulder. "That was roughly my reaction."

"God damn it," he growled. "Of all people... Him?"

"What's wrong with Udina?" Vega asked.

"Udina grounded the Normandy before the battle of the Citadel and tried to stop Shepard from going to Ilos. He nearly doomed the galaxy with his politics. The bastard has been nothing but a pain in the ass since Shepard became a Spectre. The guy always puts politics ahead of everything."

Shepard rubbed his knuckles as he sat back down on his bed. "Anything else, Ash?"

"Just one last question, Commander."

"Yes?"

"Where is your team? I've checked your ship and couldn't find any of your ground team."

"Some have left to contribute to the war effort in their own way. Others, such as Garrus and Tali, are currently waiting until this trial is over for me to come back."

"Commander, you and I both know this trial will not be in your favour. The Alliance wants to hand you over to the Batarians in order to avoid a war with them. This trial is to avoid backlash from the public over handing you over to the batarians."

"I know that," he replied in a calm tone.

Ashley stopped herself from speaking more. She had the epiphany. "You have a back-up plan."

"I always have a back-up plan. Regardless of the outcome of this trial, it will not have an impact on my duty. You should hurry to your meeting with Anderson."

"We'll talk another time, Shepard," Ashley said while getting up from her chair with Vega.

The two left his room.

"Do you believe him?" Vega asked.

"I do," Ashley replied. "I was pretty damn harsh on him on Horizon. I believe his story. Though the question remains whether the Alliance court will believe his story."

VVVVVV

Shepard heard his door open and saw several guards enter his room. "You have a call," one of them said in an annoyed tone.

"From whom?" he asked.

"She didn't say. She did know enough to contact this location. Come with us."

Shepard stood up. As soon as he approached them three soldiers, one of them slapped a collar around his neck.

"Don't bother taking it off," the soldier warned. "It's a shock collar. To ensure obedience. Like a dog. A Cerberus dog."

The other two guards chuckled.

"Clever," Shepard mocked. "Did you spend all night coming up with that?"

The guard to the right of him punched him in the stomach. The other two shoved him to walk forward. "Shut up. The very fact that you're even seeing the light of day or allowed to take calls is a courtesy of the Alliance. Frankly your betrayal should have earned you worse. Goddamn Cerberus agent."

"I don't work for Cerberus."

"Intel says otherwise. That you were working for them."

"I was undercover."

"For the last two and a half years?" he said skeptically.

"I was in a coma for most of that time."

"You seem to have an excuse for everything."

"We're here," the other guard said.

The third guard opened the door and pushed Shepard into the room. They followed in behind.

"I am perfectly able to walk forward," Shepard growled.

"Watch it," the guard sneered. "Of this conversation will be shockingly short."

"Who the hell writes these jokes for you? They are god awful."

The guard punched him in the face and then shoved him into a chair. "Talk now or you go back to your room. Remember we are here and this conversation will be recorded."

The wall projected a holographic screen. The person on the other end made Shepard's eyes widen.

"Teilo!" he gasped. "It's been ages."

Teilo looked like she was just in a war. He face had some cuts and he cloak had some tears.

/"It's best we speak in private,"/ she said in their language.

/"Very well. Is something wrong?"/

/"Yes. Very wrong. We had a recent attack from Cerberus."/

/"They attacked Omega?"/

/"Yes. And that is not even the worse part."/

/"And what is the worse part?"/

"Speak Common!" one of the soldiers yelled. "Or any language our translating can decipher."

"Silence!" Teilo chastised. "The adults are talking."

"Bitch," he cursed. "I'll cut this conversation."

Shepard quickly used stasis on the three soldiers to hold them in place.

/"Now what happened?"/

/"Cerberus unleashed husks onto the station. Accidentally or intentionally, I don't know."/

Shepard shot out of his chair. /"What?"/

/"Yes. It was a horrible attack. We were able to repel it, but there were many casualties for the local population. Sir... The worse part isn't that Cerberus attacked the station, or that they used husks. We believe that Cerberus has managed to salvage the remains of the collector base."/

/"Are you sure? You know what this means if this is true."/

/"That Cerberus may not only get their hands on advance technology, but may get indoctrinated? Yes."/

/"This changes a lot of things."/

/"Indeed. Makes them much more dangerous. We, along with Aria, were able to repeal the invasion. We are still trying to figure out how Cerberus was able to go through the Omega-4 relay without our knowing, but without ship support, we are unable to investigate. We do know that Cerberus has set up some bases on the other end of the Omega-4 relay."/

/"Send this data to all of our operatives and to the Guardian network."/

/"Yes, Commander."/

/"Good luck."/

The transmission cut out. The stasis field around the guards dissipated. The guards were immediately on Shepard. They tackled him to the ground. One of them started punching him in the face.

"Son of a bitch!" he yelled. "Speaking with your Cerberus operative?"

Shepard slowly got to his feet despite the three guys on him. "She is not a Cerberus agent. I am not a Cerberus agent." He took another punch to the face and to his stomach.

"What did you say to her?" The three guards stopped pummeling him.

"She was notifying me of an attack that happened and she gave me Intel to give to the Alliance."

"And what would that Intel be?" he demanded.

A small drizzle of blood came from his mouth. His lower lip was cut and his right eye bruised. "It's classified. Way above you. I'll only give it to Agent Ashley Williams or Admiral Anderson not to you three."

"Time to go back to your room. You have lost your communication privileges." The guard shoved his shoulder. "Move, dog."

The three guards hurried Shepard down the hallway.

"Hey, Shepard, I've been hearing some rumours about you," one of the guards said. He leaned forward. "Are you fucking a quarian?"

"I am in a romantic relationship with a quarian," Shepard corrected.

"Disgusting," another guard said. "At least go for an asari. But a quarian? Just how many crimes will you commit?"

"Love is not a crime."

"Should be if it is outside your race, and especially with a quarian. You really are one disgusting bastard."

"I don't know, Joe," another guard interjected. "I could see the allure. I mean their suits are just... SO. DAMN. SNUG. If she comes for a congenial visit, I'll make sure she won't see you, and I'll show her a real man."

"She'd never go for you," Shepard scoffed.

"She won't have a choice."

Shepard stopped in his tracks. Joe pushed his shoulder to make him move again. Shepard turned to face the grinning man. "What did you say?" he growled.

"Remember, Shepard, I have the leash," Joe warned displaying his omni-tool.

The guard, Brad, took a confident step towards Shepard with a shit-eating grin. "I said I'll find her and take her to a private room where I'll tear her mask off and put her mouth to good use. Then I'll tear her suit off and give her a time she'll never forget. Though with her weak immune system, I doubt it would have to be long for her to remember."

Shepard bared his teeth and a deep growl emanated from him. His eyes glowed green.

Brad looked to Joe. "Shock him."

Joe activated his omni-tool and used the suppression system. The collar reacted and sent a jolt. Shepard still stood there unaffected by the collar.

"It's not doing anything!"

"Vermin!" Shepard roared. Dark energy burst from him which sent the guards flying in all directions.

Brad impacted the wall and fell to the ground. He struggled to return to his feet. Brad looked up and saw Shepard approach. "Shock him again, but with more of a voltage!"

Joe quickly used his omni-tool again but with no success. "It's not working."

Shepard lifted Brad from the ground with his biotics and threw him against the wall. He used his biotics to hold him against the wall. Brad looked to be in excruciating pain.

"Stop him!" he screamed.

Joe and David tried approaching Shepard but the energy around his body repulsed them. Shepard pushed his powers more and more against Brad. He increased the gravity on his body more and more as Brad screamed. A loud crack came from Brad and his screams ended. As soon as Shepard heard that sound, he dissipated the energy around himself and Brad.

Brad's body peeled off of the wall and landed on the ground. Shepard walked towards him room as Joe ran to Brad's body and checked for a pulse.

"He's dead," he muttered. Joe scanned his body with his omni-tool and came to a horrifying realization. "Broke every bone in his body." Joe jumped to his feet and yelled at Shepard, "You killed him! You son of a bitch! Why did you do that?"

Shepard stood at his doorway. "I don't take threats lightly. Especially the threats he was issuing." He entered inside his room and closed the door. David quickly went to the door and put as many locks on the door as possible.

VVVVVV

Ashley entered inside Anderson's temporary office. Anderson was sitting at his desk leaning over some files. When the door opened, Anderson looked up and stood up. "Williams. Good to see you. Have you completed your inspection of the Normandy?"

"I have," she replied. "She is one hell of a ship. Way more advance than any ship I've ever seen. Admiral, I also took the initiative and spoke with Shepard."

"And how did that go?"

"Better than what I expected. He was still hurt by the things I said to him on Horizon, but he was willing to talk. He told me everything that happened during his mission."

"Do you believe him?"

"Yes, I do." Ashley felt like a weight was lifted off of her shoulders when she said those three words. Was it the guilt of distrusting her friend that led to that weight? Regardless, she was finally doing the right thing. "As crazy as it sounds, I believe every word he said. I was able to review the OSD that contains the data from the collector base mission. It is all there. Everything he said is all there in the data."

"And what did he say?"

Ashley went on to repeat everything Shepard said to Anderson. Anderson listened intently and without interrupting her. He raised a brow when it came to the bigger discoveries and resisted interrupting her. Ashley was able to go through Shepard's tale fairly quickly. When she finished, Anderson shook his head.

"That... is a lot to take in," he said. "Protheans. Geth. Reapers. I shouldn't have been so damn suspicious of him back at the Citadel. I can't even imagine what it is like to die, come back and then see everyone treat you like a traitor. And the fact that he experienced it all and then hindered Cerberus at every opportunity only goes to show that he is on our side."

"He doesn't deny destroying the Bahak system, but considering that it was either that or the Reapers are here now... It was a choice that had to be made."

"I know Shepard. If there was another way, he would have done it even if it meant sacrificing himself."

"The question that remains is where do we go from here?"

"Shepard can't be handed over to the batarians. We're going have to testify on his behalf. I have some evidence to provide in the trial. We might be able to convince the judge of Shepard's innocence."

"I'll be sure to testify on his behalf."

Anderson's terminal activated a voice called in. "Admiral Anderson, there has been an incident."

"What happened?" he asked.

"It's best you head to Shepard's room."

The comm link cut out. "What now?" he groaned.

Ashley and Anderson rushed to Shepard's room as humanly possible. Once they got there they saw a body bag being lifted onto a stretcher and an Alliance MP taking testimonies from the two other guards assigned to Shepard. Ashley approached them.

"Officer you are dismissed, this is now Spectre matters," Ashley told the MP.

"Very well, m'am," she said. "You want what I have?"

"I'll take it."

The MP transferred the files to Williams on her omni-tool. The MP left and Ashley turned to the two guards.

"What happened?" she asked.

"That psycho freak just turned and attacked us for no reason," Joe answered. "He went and shattered every bone in PFC Brad's body. The impact of his biotics just killed him."

"Where's did Shepard go?" Anderson demanded.

David pointed to his room. "I added extra locks to make sure he doesn't get out."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Ashley stopped him. "You say that he attacked you three for no reason, yet he doesn't make a run for it. Instead he goes right back into his room. What really happened."

"Like I said-"

"You see that?" Ashley pointed to a camera on the wall. "I can access that camera's footage and see what exactly happened. Now... What really happened?"

David reluctantly answered, "Well... We beat him after he refused to speak any regular language with a friend of his and... Brad, may have egged him on."

"What did PFC Brad say to him?" Anderson asked in a stern voice that made David shake.

"He may have, uh, said he was going to... rape his girlfriend when she visits."

Ashley stared at the two. There was a fury in her eyes that scared the two as much as Shepard's glowing eyes. "You are telling me that the man threatened to rape and kill his fiancée? And you two stupid bastards say he attacked for no reason?" Ashley voice was filled with rage. She punched the two in quick succession knocking them both to the ground. Ashley then kicked the two in their stomachs. "Stupid bastards! That man loves that woman! And you two are surprised that he attacked when the guy said he was going to rape Tali? Damn you!"

"Both of you stand up now!" Anderson ordered.

The two shaken man stood up.

"As of now, you both are demoted to Ensign and are to report to Section 2 for latrine duty. You two will remain there until further notice, which will be a god damn long time. Go!"

The two soldiers ran as fast as they could.

Ashley face palmed and said, "This is the last thing we needed. The prosecutor will use this to say Shepard is a traitor."

"With the footage from the hall, it may not come to that."

They approached the door and opened it. Shepard was sitting on the edge of his bed. He looked up which revealed the damage on his face.

"Dear god, Shepard," Ashley gasped.

"You should see the other guy," he quipped.

"He had it coming," she said.

Shepard saw Anderson behind her. He stood up. "Anderson. It's good to see you again."

"Likewise, Shepard. Williams told me everything that happened. All of it true?"

"Every word."

"Things are not looking good, Shepard. The Alliance and most of her admirals will want to toss you to the batarians in order to appease them and avoid a war."

"They are not going to accept one life in exchange for 300,000 lives," Shepard said. "They will attack regardless if I am handed over to them or not."

"I know. They are very concerned about the batarians retaliating. Odd thing though. We haven't heard from them since the destruction of the Bahak system. The Alliance believe they are preparing for war."

"They are, but not with us."

"Excuse me?" Ash asked.

"The reaper fleet has been attacking batarian colonies, according to my operatives. They are harvesting them."

"Dear god..." Anderson gasped. "This is not good. Shepard, who are these operatives of yours."

"I will reveal everything about them after the hearing, not before. This hearing is my last chance to get the Alliance to listen. Secrecy is our currently our best weapon to attaining Intel on Cerberus and the reapers. If I reveal them now, then many lives will be at risk."

"The Alliance will have the advantage in this hearing Shepard. You could very well get convicted."

"As I told Ashley, regardless of the outcome of the trial, it will not hinder my efforts. But I will damn fight to prove myself. And speaking of fighting, what happened to you, Anderson? Why did you step down as Councilor?"

"I got sick of doing nothing to contribute and get berated by the Alliance and the Council. A while after we met on the Citadel, an old friend of mine by the name of Kahlee Sanders came back and asked for help. A friend of hers was taken by Cerberus. She had Intel that would help us find the Cerberus base he and the Illusive Man was likely to be. I couldn't trust the Alliance with this Intel so I turned to someone I could trust. I went to the Turians. Before I did, I formally resigned from my post. The Alliance was only too happy to put Udina in my position. The Turians attacked the base, but barely missed the Illusive Man. They found Grayson, but Cerberus turned him into some kind of reaper avatar. He wasn't himself anymore. We tracked him through Omega and eventually we found him at Grissom academy. He sent a lot of data on human biotics to the reapers, but he managed to finally kill him. Though he wasn't the only threat we faced. There's a Cerberus operative by the name of Kai Leng. He's their best assassin and wet-work operative. He still lives. After we killed Grayson, we took his body to the Citadel to prove the reaper's existence. They were still reluctant, but they are more open to the idea. We... had some more run-ins with Cerberus in our mission know more about what they are doing, but that is another story."

"That call I took," Shepard said, starting on a new related topic. "It was from my operative on Omega. Cerberus attacked the station. They unleashed husks on the station. They don't know whether it was intentional or not, but... they believe Cerberus has set up bases across the Omega-4 relay and has salvaged some remains of the destroyed collector base, which is how they probably turned Grayson. My operatives will investigate it further."

"All of this can help prove you are on our side." Anderson nodded his head. "Williams and I will have to leave. The incident in the hall needs to be taken care of or they will try to use it to prove you to be a traitor. I'd suggest you think of what you plan to say during your hearing. It will begin in less than a month."

VVVVVV

Teilo entered through the room's door in an angry rush. She looked Aria who was surprised to see her. "Is this some kind of a joke?"

Aria approached her with a neutral look on her face. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about allowing Cerberus to use Omega's docks for their venture through the Omega-4 relay!" Teilo said in her face. "We already told you they are off-limits for doing business with! We already told you exactly what they have done!"

"Omega's economy has been lagging since your take over months ago," Aria argued. "I took in their business in order to bring in some credits for the economy. Anyways, this was an opportunity for my people to get Intel on them."

"One, Omega's economy has only dropped by ten percent but crime has plummeted by forty percent. Cash flow will come within the month. Two, you do not get to run your own missions dealing with Cerberus without notifying the Guardians! The reaper avatar escaped this station because you didn't check in with us when Cerberus contacted you. You were blinded by rage. You even sold the data on the reaper avatar to Cerberus.

Teilo shoved Aria back. Aria scowled at her. "Watch it. I have fought stronger enemies."

"No, you haven't. I am far worse than anything you have ever faced. The only thing keeping you alive at the moment is your ability to bring quick order to Omega. Your actions has risked galactic stability and aided our enemies. Your actions opened this station to attack from the reapers. I'll be extremely clear Aria. If you go behind our backs and in any way aid Cerberus or the reapers, you will be considered an enemy of the order and be executed. The choice is yours. Fight with us, or die. We will not allow anyone to hinder our efforts against the reapers. Am I understood?"

Aria didn't allow the synthetic to faze her, but she could detect the malice behind her eyes. She simply nodded.

"That's good to know. We can be friends Aria, good friends, but we need to work on our trust issues. Or the reapers will destroy us all."

VVVVVV

Garrus entered the observation to find Tali leaning against a railing to stare out at the fleet that surrounded the Charybdis.

"Tali," he called out.

Tali looked back. "Hey, Garrus."

"I wanted to see how you're doing."

"I miss him, Garrus. It's been a few weeks now and we haven't heard back from him."

"Shepard will be fine. I doubt some lawyers are going to keep him down."

Tali chuckled. "That's true. It's just all of this damn waiting. I want us to be a crew again."

"Regardless of the distance between all of us, we are crew and always will be."

"That's a very quarian thing to say."

Garrus shrugged his shoulders.

"So where are Jack and Grunt?" Tali asked.

"They have been training nonstop," Garrus replied. "They will be-"

"Lady Zorah, Ser Vakarian," a praetorin said while entering the room in a hurry. "A situation has arisen that requires your attention immediately."

Tali and Garrus nodded to each other and chased after the praetorin. He led them to a control room where several admirals stood around a table that displayed a holographic image of the galaxy. Jack and Grunt were there too, but they looked slightly irritated to have been called away from their training. Jack grew out the hair on her head. The sides were still bald, but the center was grown out to a medium length. She tide it together into a ponytail.

"You called for us," Garrus asked.

The rak'en admiral nodded. "I'm Admiral Mec. We called you all here because there has been a new development with the reaper fleet." She moved her hand which zoomed in on the batarian section of the galaxy. "We have been observing reaper activity in the batarian galaxy. So far several colonies have been taken by the reapers in their conquest." A red highlight spread across a section of the batarian space to represent the reaper's territory. "Several hundred thousand of lives have been lost. Despite the loss of life, the reaper's advance has been... slow. That has changed." She waved her hand again to reveal the mass relays of batarian space. Several of them have been targeted by a holographic ring. "These relays have been activated by the reapers. We believe they have found enough soldiers to wage an offensive on the galaxy."

"Do you know where they are heading?" Garrus asked.

"We had some of our exion operatives do an estimation where one of the fronts will go," she replied. Again she waved her hand. The holographic map focused on one of the mass relays. It then connected to another system. The map then followed through path after path until it finally reached its destination.

Tali gasped and Garrus mandibles spread open. Grunt growled.

"God damn it!" Jack cursed.

The system that was highlighted was Sol.

"The front is heading straight for earth," Mec said. "They will reach there in less than a week."

"We have to do something!" Tali asserted. "We need to get Shepard!"

"We already have a plan in motion, Lady Zorah. We are sending a ship to ensure Shepard's safety. And before you say, yes we want you to be on that ship."

"I'm going too," Jack said.

"As will I," Grunt added. "I'm sure as hell making sure my Battlemaster isn't stuck on earth and miss all of the good fights we'll have."

"Then it's settled," Garrus concluded. "When does the ship leave?"

"Right now," Mec replied.

VVVVVV

Sergeant Michaels entered the hangar bay in a fit of anger as he looked at the Normandy. He approached the nearest dock worker. "Care to explain to be why that ship hasn't been repainted yet?"

"We have been trying for the past week, sir," he replied. "But every time any of our machines approach the ship, it malfunctions."

"Have you found out why?"

"We believe the ship has a defense system that has been doing this."

"Is this ship safe to be here then?"

"We haven't detected any break-ins in our networks, so as far as we can tell, it only reacts when we try to repaint it. We have tried interrogating the crew, but they have been uncooperative with us."

"Well, once Shepard is convicted this ship will be ours and this crew will be forced to tell us everything about this ship or be tried as traitors of the Alliance."

VVVVVV

Shepard was led to the trial room where the hearing would take place. He was escorted by half a dozen N7 marines. Xiltro was walking along side him to speak on his behalf and as a material witness. They entered inside the courtroom. There was the prosecutor, Ashley, Anderson and a person Shepard didn't know. The unknown person approached Shepard and held out his hand.

"Hello Commander," he said. "I'm Joshua Liem. I'm your advocate."

"Do you believe my story?" Shepard asked straight up.

"What I believe doesn't matter, look we need to-"

"Actually it does matter," Xiltro said.

"You're fired," Shepard said. "I'll represent myself. Leave."

"I would advise against that," Joshua said.

"And I would advise you leave right now. I will not have someone who doesn't believe in me to represent me. That is an insult to my honour and to the truth."

"You have any idea what they are charging you with? You fail here and it is death for you."

"Go. Now."

Joshua relented and walked passed him. "Your funeral," he said.

Shepard walked over to his chair and sat down with Xiltro. He looked back to Ashley and Anderson.

"We're here for you, Commander," Anderson said.

"All rise for the honourable Judge Samuels," the bailiff announced.

Everyone in the court stood up and waited for the judge to enter the room and sit down. "Everyone may take their seat," he said. Samuels picked up his OSD. "Now Commander Shepard-"

"I would like to ask that Shepard not be addressed as Commander for the duration of this trial, considering the charges," the prosecutor asked of him.

"I would counter his claims as I have not yet be convicted and military ranks do not disappear because of death," Shepard countered.

"The motion is denied," Samuels said. "I see you have declined your right to an attorney. May I ask why?"

"He doesn't believe my story, and I will not have anyone represent me who doesn't believe in me."

"Very well. Now COMMANDER Shepard. You stand here charged with treason against the Council and the Alliance, conspiracy to commit treason against the Council and the Alliance, conspiracy against the Council and the Alliance, murder, theft, desertion of post, obstruction of justice, theft of a military craft, aiding a terrorist organization, espionage, murder of Agent Tela Vasir, and the complete destruction of the Bahak system which resulted in the deaths of 300, 000 batarians. How do you plead to these charges?"

Shepard stood up and answered, "To the charges of treason, conspiracy to commit treason, and conspiracy against the Council and the Alliance, I plead not-guilty. To the other charges, I plead not-guilty by reason of necessity."

"Commander, to plead a case of necessity you do have to fulfill conditions."

"I have to prove that the harm I committed is outweighed by the harm that was avoided. That I had no other reasonable alternative at the time. And that I ceased in my actions once the danger has passed. I did what I did in order to save countless lives."

"I would like to call Commander Shepard up to the stand to explain where he has been all of this time."

Shepard approached the stand went around. The bailiff approached him and raised a hand and placed his other hand over his heart, Shepard followed. "Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?"

"Yes," Shepard answered. He then sat down.

The prosecutor approached him. "Now Commander, where have you been for the last two years?"

"I died during the attack on the Normandy-"

"Objection!" he yelled. "How can you be here if you died?"

"Sustained," Samuels said. "You swore to be truthful, Commander."

"And I was, if the prosecutor didn't interrupt me, I would have explained further. I did die during the attack on the Normandy. My body eventually found its way into Cerberus custody, where they entered in into Project Lazarus."

"Project Lazarus?" the prosecutor repeated.

"It was an advance project to bring me back to life. A friend of mine infiltrated Cerberus and joined the project to ensure I came back. The man I am referring to is right there." Shepard pointed at Xiltro. "It is thanks to him that I breathe again. When I woke up, I was introduced to the Illusive Man. We talked by a quantum entanglement communicator. He brought to my attention that human colonies have been disappearing in the Terminus system and that the reapers may be behind it."

"Objection! This is a place of laws and reality, not myths."

"Overruled," the judge declared, "but the Commander may want to present something to sustain his claims."

"Regardless of what you may believe, but the reapers are very real," Shepard said. "I do have evidence to subject for the court."

"Go ahead."

Shepard handed the judge an OSD. "This OSD contains all of the data we gathered in our mission against the collectors and the reapers. All the observations, reports and even scientific evidence is all there. I think it is a good idea to call for recess in order to review the data."

"I agree," Samuels said. "Court is adjourned for recess and will resume in four hours."

VVVVVV

Out in the darkness of space, a mass relay activated. Dozens upon dozens of large dreadnaughts appeared through. The horde came to full force and flew a small distance from the mass relay. One of the reapers glowed red. The mass relays started shifting its direction. The horde waited as the structure turned. The mass relay soon came to a full stop. The horde approached the relay and made their jump. Ascension is nigh.

VVVVVV

The court returned to session. Judge Samuels sat back down. "There was a lot of data to go over, but from what I have gone over, appeared to be of concern."

"This man still destroyed an entire star system," the prosecutor argued. "In doing so, has incurred the wrath of the Hegemony."

"The actions done there were to delay the reapers from reaching our star systems," Shepard argued.

"Your evidence that has happened there doesn't expand much further than you had 'visions.' That doesn't even come close to being considered evidence."

"Then maybe you should call up someone who also believes in my visions." Shepard looked towards Ashley. "I would like to call up Ashley Williams to speak on my behalf."

"Operations Chief Williams," the prosecutor said. "Please come up."

Ashley got up and walked to the stand. The bailiff approached her and had her affirm her truthfulness.

"Now Chief Williams, you have been serving under Shepard for a while, correct?"

"I joined his crew after the attack on Eden Prime. Yes."

"Have you seen Shepard used these visions before?"

"I have. His visions led us to locate the planet Ilos and the conduit which we used to save the Citadel."

"So you honestly believe he has not just visions but accurate ones?"

"I do."

The prosecutor nodded his head and then asked, "What is your relationship with Commander Shepard?"

Ashley raised a brow at the odd question. "He was my commanding officer and friend."

"Was he more to you than that?"

"Objection!" Shepard yelled. "This is irrelevant to the case."

"What are you doing?" Samuels asked the prosecutor.

"I'm establishing that her testimony cannot be relied upon as she may feel obligated to her 'commanding officer'."

Samuels gave it thought and then said. "Overruled, but watch yourself."

"Were you and Shepard romantically involved?"

"No," Ashley replied back quickly.

"Explain these." The prosecutor showed some photos of Ashley and Shepard being in an intimate embrace with each other.

Ashley burst out laughing. "Oh my god! I can't believe you think these are real. These are fakes off of a fan site. You have any idea how many fakes exist? There's a fan site for every woman Shepard has ever been seen in the presence of."

"Can you prove these are fake?"

"I can. See my left upper arm? Nothing there? Now look at my arm." Ashley rolled up her sleeve to show an Alliance tattoo. "We get these when we enlist. Are you sure you passed the bar exam?"

"I did, but Shepard was a bit enthusiastic in clearing your family's name. A taint that shouldn't be washed away so easily-"

Ashley stood up and punched him in the face. "My grandfather surrendered to save lives, asshole!"

"Bailiff remove her," the judge ordered.

The bailiff grabbed her arm and escorted her out of the courtroom. The doors closed shut behind her. Ashley walked away and sulked. She felt stupid for given into her anger at that moment, and now she can't defend Shepard. Ashley walked to the hangar where Vega waited.

"Williams," he said. "Is the trial over?"

"No," she replied. "I got anger during questioning and punched the prosecutor in the face."

"I'm sure he had it coming."

"He did, but now I'm kicked out and unable to defend Shepard. All we can do is wait around."

"We can do that inside the Normandy. I've been dying to see the inside of her."

VVVVVV

"Stealth systems engaged," the pilot announced as they left the Charon relay. "I'm not picking up any chatter. Looks like they haven't detected us."

"Good," Garrus said. "How are we going to find Shepard, though?"

"Not hard. I'll just identify the Normandy's signature and send a message to EDI."

"And where the Normandy is, is where Shepard is," Tali said.

"Indeed. Message away." He stared at the screen. "She reads. Location acquired."

"Take us in," Aether ordered.

"Yes, sir."

Their invisible vessel flew passed the armada of Alliance ships. There were thousands of them.

"Looks like they are expecting a fight," Grunt observed.

"Question is against whom?" Tali asked.

They entered through the atmosphere. Below they saw the academy where the Normandy and Shepard was being held. The pilot stopped a good kilometer over the academy.

"We'll need two teams for this," Aether stated. "I'll take a squad in to retrieve Shepard. Garrus, you should go in to retrieve the Normandy." He noticed Tali taking a few steps forwards to say something. "I know you want to see Shepard again, but we have this. Anyways, we'll escort him to the Normandy so you'll be with him again. For good. I promise."

Tali nodded. "Then what are we waiting for?"

"What about guards?" Garrus mentioned. "We don't want to kill Alliance personnel just to get the ship."

"I'll use my biotics to get them out of the way," Jack suggested. She noticed Garrus' gaze. "Harmlessly. The exions upgraded my bio-amp. So I can handle it."

"Alright, we have two stealth shuttles," Aether said. "My team will take one. Your team will take the other. Get the Normandy and cloak. Wait for us to call for you."

VVVVVV

"...if there was any other way, I know Shepard would have found it," Anderson concluded.

"That's very heartwarming, but he hasn't denied destroying the system," the prosecutor said. "Not only that, the only real evidence he offers for his actions in the Bahak system is a vision. And even that data pad is questionable as we do know that Shepard is well versed in technology. It's not out of the realm of realism that it is all fabricated."

"I've seen the footage of the collectors attacking Freedom's Progress and the report by Williams about the attack on Horizon."

"By the collectors," the prosecutor said. "There were no reports of a dreadnaught matching Sovereign's size and design. And we're supposed to believe that they are genetically modified protheans who are slaves to the reapers. No other independent report has come to conclusion that the reapers even exist. What matters is that he admits to destroying the Bahak system-"

Just then the doors burst open and four cloaked figures entered the courtroom.

"This farce ends now," the lead cloaked figure announced.

"What is the meaning of this?" Samuels demanded.

"We are here to evacuate Commander Shepard."

"This is a trial, you can't just-"

"This case is dismissed. We are taking him."

"Bailiff, deal with them," he ordered.

The bailiff approached them. One of the cloaked figures tore away his cloak and shocked the man. He has never seen this type of alien before. Anderson stood up in shock as well. "What the hell are you?" he yelled.

"I am Major T'Yelo Furt," he replied. "I am a rak'en!"

The other figures tore away their cloaks to reveal themselves.

"I am Private Guil Soel," another said. "I am rasitian!"

"Private Uli X'elo. I am praetorin."

"Private Qell Ell. I am tia'zu."

"Operative Xiltro," Xiltro stated when he stood up. "I am exion."

The final figure tore off his cloak. "Operative Aether. I am exion."

Shepard stood up from his chair. "I am Supreme Commander John Shepard. I am artician."

VVVVVV

Garrus, Tali, Grunt and Jack ran into the hangar bay and found it to be lightly guarded. The guards who were posted saw them running towards them.

"Hey, none of you are allowed here!"

Jack ran forward ahead of the group and sued her biotics. The two guards were lifted and tossed aside. "Let's get in and out of here!"

The four approached the airlock. The door slid open and they crammed into the airlock and allowed it to run through its cycle. They waited patiently for it to do so.

"Joker will be glad to see us," Garrus commented.

The airlock finished its cycle. Garrus stood at the door waiting for it to open. As the door opened he came face-to-face with a gun. "Shit."

"Garrus?" a voice said.

Garrus' eyes focused passed the gun and saw the person holding the weapon. "Williams?"

Ashley lowered the gun. "What the hell are you doing-" Ashley saw Tali. "Tali? What are you two doing here?"

"We're here to get Shepard out of here," Tali said as Jack and Grunt walked by them.

Vega still had his gun up. "Are they okay m'am?"

"Yes," Ashley replied. "Are you two insane!" she exclaimed. "This will only prove Shepard is a traitor!"

Garrus walked by her. "We don't have the luxury of time anymore."

"What do you mean?"

Tali approached her. "Williams. Ash... The reapers are here. They will enter this system at any moment. We need to get the Normandy and Shepard out of here right now!"

"You have to be kidding me."

Garrus entered the cockpit. "Joker get us out of the hangar and cloak us. We have to wait for Shepard to signal for us."

"Right," Joker nodded. "I would have thought Shepard bought us more time."

"The reapers must have found another nearby relay. We'll figure it out once we're back at the Charybdis."

"What the hell is the Charybdis?" Ashley asked.

Garrus thought it over and said, "A station. We'll explain later. Right now we need to focus on getting the hell out of here."

"We need to warn the Alliance!"

"Message has been sent to Admiral Hackett to warn him of the incoming reaper fleet," EDI said. "Docking clamps have been disengaged."

"Who is that?" Ashley asked.

"It's, uh, EDI, the ship's interface," Tali explained unsuccessfully.

That made something click in Ashley's head. "You have an AI on this ship? What the hell were you all thinking?" She tensed up in her stance.

"Calm the hell down Williams!" Garrus yelled. "We'll explain everything, but we need to get Shepard and evacuate earth."

Ashley loosened in her stance. "Fine. I'll let it go. For now. But you all better have a good explanation."

VVVVVV

"You initiated first contact with several races?" the prosecutor said. "You have any idea how much trouble you are in?"

Xiltro laughed as he approached the prosecutor. "You idiot," he said nonchalantly. "Shepard didn't initiate first contact with our races. Shepard's race has been our allies for eons."

"What is he talking about Shepard?" Anderson demanded. "What the hell is he talking about?"

Shepard joined the group. "Anderson. I did tell you I would tell you the truth about my past and operatives one day. That is today. I am not a human. I am an artician, a race from a parallel universe." Shepard turned to Aether. "What happened that you had to interrupt this trial prematurely?"

"The reapers are here, Commander," Aether replied. "They will be here any moment."

Anderson rushed up next to Shepard. "How long exactly?" he demanded.

A loud explosion erupted in the distance. The explosion caused the building to shake. Part of the ceiling collapsed and fell on the prosecutor, judge and bailiff killing them instantly.

"Now," Aether replied.

VVVVVV

Several fireballs appeared in the sky. Thousands on the streets panicked as they approached. Once the fireballs reached a certain distance, they slowed down. The flames died down until they revealed the reapers within. They flew to the ground and landed.

The behemoths started walking around the streets and firing beams of accelerated melted metal at anything unlucky enough to get in its path.

In the sky another fireball appeared. And another. And then another. The number kept increasing until it appeared that the sky was filled with fireballs.

VVVVVV

"We need to get out of here!" Shepard yelled.

"Commander, can you hear me?" Joker called over the comm.

"Joker, I read you. We need to evacuate right now."

"I'll need you to find a location for me to pick you up at."

"We can get to my shuttle," Aether said. "It's not far from here."

"Then we head there," Shepard said. "Move out."

Anderson ran alongside Shepard. "What the hell is all this, Shepard?"

"I'll give you the short version, considering our hurry," Shepard said while running behind Aether. "I am part of a race called articians and we look a lot like yours. We come from a different universe along with our allied races. Our technology is far more advance than this galaxy. Over twenty years ago, Cerberus found our galaxy. They went behind our backs and experimented on our technology and ended up releasing an apocalyptic plague on our galaxy. The plague made my race extinct and the other races have roughly a billion left each. I led the galaxy because it was my birth right and duty as not only as a Prince of the articians, but because I am a Tiven'Vian. A Tiven'Vian is an individual born of royal blood who is destined to save life from a cataclysm. I was sent forth to this galaxy in order to gain Intel on Cerberus and make them pay for what they've done. Soon we learned of the reapers and realized that they have come to our galaxy fifty thousand years ago. We fought and repelled them. The reapers are this cataclysm I am to lead us all against. So they are a threat to this galaxy and mine. We currently fight to save everyone. I'm sorry I didn't tell you any of this but I had to ensure maximum success of our mission for both of our sakes."

"If your galaxy has fought the reapers, then why didn't you all come forward and say they exist?" Anderson demanded. His voice was understandably upset.

"Are you kidding?" Xiltro butted in. "We studied this galaxy's history and laws. The Council would only see us as a threat until the reapers are proven to be real. Otherwise they wouldn't take anything we say as truth. Also we are not happy about the Council's past actions and discriminating laws concerning the krogan, quarians and AIs."

"What do AIs have to do with anything?"

Aether looked back while running. "You think these eyes are implants? I am exion. We were created by the articians."

"My god," Anderson gasped. "You're all AIs."

"We are," Xiltro said. "We feared the Council would try to go to war with our galaxy simply because we exist."

Anderson looked to Shepard. "Is John Shepard even your real name?"

"Yes and no," Shepard replied. "It is the English translation of my birth name: Jon'ison Tivos. I actually prefer to be called Shepard."

Anderson shook his head. "I want to be angry for all of you keeping this secret, but considering what you just said, I don't blame you."

"I assure you, Admiral, we are on your side and we only wish to help save your galaxy."

"I believe you. This is just a lot to take in and-"

"There it is!" Aether yelled. He pointed to the ship in the middle of a small courtyard.

They ran towards the waiting shuttle. A loud whistle is heard that grew louder. An object impacted the shuttle blowing it to pieces.

"No!"

The object was badly damaged and inert. Shepard recognized it as an oculus drone. The weapon cache of the shuttle was thrown away from the ship. Shepard approached it and pulled out a pistol for Anderson, Xiltro and himself.

"We need to get to the beacon near the communications tower then," Anderson said.

"Agreed," Aether said. "Lead the way."

They followed Anderson through a door which led outside of the building on the roof. They all saw reapers move through the megapolis of Vancouver/Seattle. In just their view, they could see half a dozen reapers. A kilometer high reaper move through the city nearby. It fired beams of red molten metal at everything in its direction. The reapers let out mechanical roars as they moved. Farther into the distance the fireball of an Alliance ship fell to the ground. Smaller ships both Alliance and civilian flew frantically through the sky.

"My god," Anderson gasped upon seeing the destruction.

An Alliance fighter flew just above their heads towards the reaper. Anderson went right and walked over a grated walkway to another section of the roof. Another Alliance fighter flew over head with an oculus behind it. The oculus fired a particle beam at the fighter blowing off a part of its wing. The fighter collided with the academy.

Moans echoed from the hole in the roof. Several husks pulled themselves up from the hole.

"Husks!" Uli yelled.

They opened fired and blew the two husks to pieces. Once they were sure there were no more, Anderson approached the hole and jumped down into the building. They were inside a room. The only obvious way out was the malfunctioning door. Shepard grabbed the door and pried it open. Anderson went through followed by Xiltro, Aether, Uli, Guil and Qell. T'Yelo opened the doorway to allow Shepard to go through.

"Go through, Commander," he said.

Shepard was about to but he noticed some movement in the corner of his eye. "Just a moment." He walked towards where he saw the movement. It was an open vent. He crouched down and looked into it and saw a little boy. "Hey," he said calmly and quietly. "It's okay."

"Everyone's dying," the boy said.

The building shook. Shepard looked back and saw a reaper walk by the window. He turned back to the boy. "Come here. I need to get you some place safe." Shepard stretched out his arm. "Here. Take my hand."

The boy lowered his head. "You can't help me."

"Shepard!" Anderson called out. "In here." He walked back through the, now, opened doors.

Shepard looked back into the vent and saw that the boy was gone. He followed Anderson through the door. The hallway on the other side led them back outside.

"We're close to where the LZ is," Anderson said. "We get there and get a beacon going."

They walked outside and were treated again to the view of the reapers tearing the city apart. A reaper hovered over the ground right in front of them and landed with a thunderous thud. It roared as it landed.

"My god."

They moved forward and saw an Alliance cruiser firing rounds at the reaper. The reaper lifted one of its appendages and fired, blowing right through the ship in one shot.

"How do you stop something so powerful?" Anderson asked out loud.

"I don't know," Shepard replied. "But the Guardians will find a way."

The cruiser firing several shots in vain as it fell apart.

"Let's get to the LZ so the Normandy can pick us up."

The cruiser reached critical mass and blew apart. The noise was so loud, it made Shepard's ears ring. He had to block the light from his eyes. The shockwave from the explosion reached them. The ground gave away beneath them. Everyone but the tia'zu soldier fell and slid down the ramp below. The tia'zu flew down safely.

When Shepard reached the end of his slide, he rolled forward to get right onto his feet. He saw the chucks of the Alliance cruiser fall into the water.

"Damn it!" Anderson cursed. "We'll have to find another way to contact them."

Anderson went to the floating debris and hoped across to get to the other side. Everyone followed close behind. They saw movement ahead and took cover. Shepard peaked over and saw four brown husks feeding.

"Commander, they're batarian husks!" Aether said. "They're eating a dead husk. Each has a cannon on its right arm."

"Open fire!" Shepard ordered.

Despite their terrifying appearance, these... 'Cannibals' were not too much stronger than a human husk. They team was able to take them down with relative ease. When the last one died, they continued and went over another walkway. They came across another three cannibals. Shepard used a biotic lift to get them out of cover. The team took them down fast.

The reaper close by took no notice of them. They round the corner of the walkway and saw more cannibals pull themselves up onto the walkway. Shepard sent a shockwave which launched them into the surrounding water. The creatures didn't have the intelligence to swim and due to their synthetic materials, they sunk like a rock. In the distance ahead, another ship plummeted in a ball of fire.

Anderson went ahead and crouched nearby where the cannibals were. "Shepard, over here! I found a radio."

Shepard located a Mattock AR on the ground. He picked it up and inserted a heat sink. The radio Anderson was using was the leftover of a crash Alliance shuttle.

"Normandy, this is Anderson. Do you read?"

"Admiral, what's your location?" Ashley answered.

"We're by a downed shuttle in the harbour. I'm activating this distress beacon. Send support, we've got movement down here."

The radio beeped and fizzled. "Lieutenant?" The radio cut out. "Damn it! I lost the signal."

"Let's hope that beacon does its job," Shepard said.

"And fast," he said. "We've got company."

Many cannibals came from the direction the team came from. They all started returning fire.

"Hope they get here soon," Anderson said.

"You and me both," Shepard said.

The cannibals focused their fire and unleashed a torrent of fire. The shots impacted Xiltro in the chest.

"Damn it!" he cried out.

"Xiltro!" Shepard screamed. He ran over to him.

Synthetic fluids poured out of his wounds. "And I just go this body," he joked.

"You'll get another," Shepard said. "Just hop into my omni-tool."

"Right..." Green electricity sparked around his body. The electricity faded. "Oh, god."

"What happened?"

"Transfer error. Corruption of data detected. I-I can't leave this body."

"No, no, no! Find some way around it. Like taking your data core. Anything."

Xiltro patted Shepard on the shoulder. "There's nothing that- that- can be done. M-M-M-M-My data is corrupted. I-I-I-I cannot go on."

"I'm so sorry, Xiltro."

"Don't apologize," he said. "You have been a good friend and Commander. I-I-I-I-It h-has been an honour s-s-s-s-serving you."

"It has been an honour fighting by your side. Rest with the spirits."

"S-S-S-Stop the reapers. G-G-G-Goodbye my f-f-f-friend. S-S-Systems sh-sh-shut-t-t-t-ting down..."

The life faded from his eyes. A tear fell from Shepard's right eye. Xiltro's body caught on fire and quickly turned to ash.

Green energy flowed around Shepard's body. "You bastards!" he roared. Green energy surrounded a pillar of metal. Shepard lifted it up and threw it at the large ground of cannibals with all of his might. The pillar flattened all of the cannibals in sight. Despite that, there were many more that were not in sight. Another two dozen cannibals crawled onto the walkway.

"I'm running out of ammo," Anderson said.

At that moment, the Normandy flew into sight. It launched a bombardment onto the large group of cannibals. The Normandy spun around and hovered near some debris that provided a walkway to the cargo bay door.

"'Bout time!" Anderson said in relief.

All of them ran towards the Normandy. The cargo bay door opened. Ashley and Vega ran to the edge and had their weapons prepped to take on anything that may attack. Shepard jumped onto the door. Ashley took aim at the odd aliens behind them.

Shepard pushed her AR down. "They're on our side, Williams."

Ashley nodded and said, "Welcome back, Shepard."

"Thanks."

Everyone but Anderson jumped onto the door. Anderson stopped at the top of the debris.

"Shepard."

"Come on!" Shepard called to him.

An Alliance shuttle searching for survivors flew by.

"I'm not going," he said. "You saw those men back there. There's a million more like them and they need a leader."

"I can't leave without you, Admiral."

"You can't stay here, Shepard. This galaxy needs your leadership. The Guardians need you. You have to rally the galaxy to take back earth and fight off the reapers. I'm staying here to lead the soldiers."

"I would like to request permission to stay here, Commander," Aether said. "Anderson will need all the help he can get."

"You sure?" Shepard asked him.

"Yes, sir."

"Permission granted. Keep him safe. I'll return with an armada, Admiral."

"One last thing," Anderson said. He pulled out something shining. "Despite what you may be... consider yourself reinstated as an Alliance marine again." Anderson tossed the object at Shepard. It was his dog tags. "Now get out of here!"

"Godspeed, Admiral."

"Good luck, Shepard."

"Joker, get us out of here," Shepard ordered over the comm.

The Normandy started to take off. Anderson and Aether moved in the opposite direction. Shepard could see in the distance the little boy he saw earlier getting onto an Alliance shuttle. The two shuttles began taking off. A reaper noticed their escape and charged up its beam cannon.

Before the reaper could fire off a shot, something pounded the reaper with several large explosives and followed up with a green beam of molten metal. The attack tore a large hole in the reaper. The reaper fell to the ground and let out a mechanical groan as it died. A Guardian ship shed its cloak and came into view. The two Alliance shuttles managed to escape.

"We're ready to go, Commander," the pilot of the ship said.

"Then let's get out of here!" Shepard said. "We have a galaxy to unite."


	40. Trust

Chapter 38: Trust

The Normandy raced away from earth as fast as possible with the Guardian ship next to it. In their escape they tried to damage any reaper ship in their path. Reapers tried to stop their retreat by firing their beam weapons. The two ships evaded the weapons with relative ease. Soon the two ships broke through the earth's atmosphere. There they could see dozens of ships that were torn apart by the reaper's assault.

"Where are all the Alliance ships?" Joker asked out loud.

"I intercepted communication from Admiral Hackett to the fleet shortly after I sent a warning of the incoming reapers," EDI replied. "He gave a retreat order to the fleet. The majority of them manage to escape through the relay."

Joker sighed loudly. "Good."

The reapers in orbit were too busy entering earth's atmosphere to give notice to the Normandy and the Guardian ship.

VVVVVV

Shepard looked through a large viewport to see earth. Various locations across the planet's surface were set aflame. The view of the planet grew smaller as the ship escaped. He turned and walked away from the viewport as the blast shield slid over. Shepard shuddered as he let out a breath. Until he came back with reinforcements, that image would haunt him... push him towards fulfilling his destiny.

As his eyes left the floor, he saw Ashley approaching him. She looked angry... sad... It was hard to truly pick out what she was feeling. "I want answers, Commander," she demanded.

"I know you do," he said solemnly. "I just need a moment to-"

"No more stalling! You have been keeping secrets from me all this time. Who are these people? Where did you find these aliens?"

"Williams, I really need-"

"I'm sick of this stalling, Shepard-"

"One of my best friends just died, Williams!" Shepard roared. He moved quickly to her, to the point where his face was inches away from her. "A man who has been with me in the worse times in my life! A man who has saved my life more times than you can fathom. The very man who is responsible for bringing me back to life! So when I say I need a moment for grieve for him... I need a goddamn moment!"

Ashley backed away immediately. She leaned against the wall next to Vega.

"I have to do the rites of the dead," he muttered.

Ashley and Vega watched as Shepard got down to his knees. He started muttering something in a language their translators couldn't translate. Shepard's hands glowed green and blue. He moved his hands in the air to create symbols out of energy. His mutterings increased in speed as did the creation of his symbols. The two Alliance marines were worried he was going to cause a dark energy explosion. Suddenly he stopped at one last symbol.

/"Rest with the spirits, Xiltro."/

Shepard slowly got to his feet. He faced his alien soldiers and said, "Stay down here for now. We'll regroup with the rest of the Guardians soon enough." 

"Yes, Commander," the Major said with a fist over his heart and bowing his head slightly. "If you need us, we will be here until then."

"Thank you, Major. It appears the time of revelations has finally come."

The Major nodded. "I only wished that the reaper fleet didn't come this soon."

"All we can do for now is strive to unite this galaxy." Shepard looked to Ashley and Vega. "Come."

They didn't hesitate to follow him to the side of the elevator door.

"What is going on?" Ashley asked. She pointed to the Guardian soldiers. "Who are those people?"

"They are Guardian soldiers," Shepard answered. He pointed to each of the aliens. "Their races are rak'en, tia'zu, rasitian and praetorin."

"When did you have the time to not only initiate first contact but convince the races to follow you?"

"I didn't initiate first contact. These races have been my specie's allies for eons." Ashley raised a brow at the statement. "I'm not a human, Ash. I am an artician. And before you start wondering, I am Shepard, not some doppelganger. I... I just wasn't honest about what I was."

"Y-You're an alien?" Ashley gasped.

Vega was visually stunned and confused.

"Yes," he confirmed. "I am part of an alien race that physically looks like humans, but are different."

"What the hell are articians?" Vega asked.

"Wait!" Ashley exclaimed. "I remember that race name! Back on ilos. The articians were a race of advance aliens from an alternate universe. Vigil said they were essential to defeating the reapers. You knew... You knew! You son of a bitch!" Ashley landed a right hook into his jaw. The blow just made him turn his head, but not fall back. Shepard rubbed his jaw. "You knew about the reapers and everything since before Eden Prime."

"I had a rough idea what the reapers were before Eden Prime," Shepard said. "My race was attacked 50 thousand years ago by an armada of dreadnaught ships. We defeated managed to defeat them, but we were unable to determine their origin until twenty years ago."

"You knew about the reapers' presence in this galaxy for twenty years and didn't tell anyone?"

"It's not that simple, Ash."

"If your race defeated the reapers then you can just call them in to take back earth," Vega said.

"I'm afraid that is impossible."

"Why?" Ashley demanded.

"Do you know why I have such hatred for Cerberus?"

Ashley shook her head. She still retained the intensity of anger.

"Close to thirty years ago, Cerberus discovered a wormhole that led them to my galaxy. We interacted with each other. We made restrictions for Cerberus when it came to our technology, but that didn't stop them from going behind our backs. Cerberus modified our medical nanobot technology and inadvertently created a plague. The plague wiped out my entire specie and nearly caused the extinction of our ally races. I am the last of my kind."

"God..." Ashley gasped. "I... I didn't know." She just realized how insulting she was on Horizon. "The things on Horizon. I'm so sorry, Commander."

"You didn't know."

"Vigil mentioned about a Tiven'Vian..."

"That is me. I am my chosen people's Tiven'Vian."

"And what exactly is a Tiven'Vian?" Vega interjected.

"Chosen protector is a close translation," Shepard answered. "Only those of royal blood have ever been a Tiven'Vian."

"So what are you exact, with the royal blood and all?"

"Prince of the articians."

Their eyes widen briefly in surprise.

"This is all... interesting, but you still haven't explained why your galaxy didn't come out and reveal yourselves and try to warn us about the reapers." Vega crossed his arms waiting for an answer.

"Vega's right," Ashley concurred. "This galaxy could have prepared itself if you had warned us. We could have avoided the Eden Prime war, Saren and his geth. Even the attack on the Citadel."

"Our races were nearly wiped out," Shepard said. "We needed to build up an army in order to fight against the coming blight. I was sent as a scout since I looked human. When I got here I read about this galaxy's history. We were concerned with what we read. We didn't like how the Council wiped out the rachni, or how careless they were when uplifting the krogan. Sterilization of the krogan. How they abandoned the quarians after the war with the geth and their continued discriminatory laws against them." He took an aggressive step forward while stabbing his finger in Ashley's direction. "Even threatening bombarding them into extinction. And you want us to expose ourselves to them while we are at our most vulnerable? The Council would demand we limit our military development to their standard or risk war with them."

"But warning them of the reapers would change their minds," Vega argued. "With a threat of that level, they would get rid of the military regulation so every race could develop in preparation for the reaper invasion. Hell, this invasion of earth could have been avoided if your race had just told everyone about the reapers."

"We didn't just sit around and waited for the reapers to come!" Shepard yelled. "We worked towards advancing the technology of this galaxy which was practically deadlocked for the last several hundred years. But let's put that thought aside. The politicians of this galaxy are a major factor why we haven't come forward. Even when a reaper attacked the Citadel, and the Council recovered parts of Sovereign, they still made claims that it was a geth ship against all logic! Even with dozens of known planets in this galaxy with craters over ancient cities that were destroyed in fifty thousand year intervals, they didn't think that there was anything wrong. And who are we? We are a hyper-advance civilization who claims that a race of sentient starships attacked us and came from their galaxy. That this race is the most dangerous threat to the existence of both our galaxies. And..." Shepard placed emphasis on the word. "That we must build up militarily for a threat they have never encountered. And that the biggest lead on the reaper threat is the Oracle. A spirit that has been with my race for eons."

"I-I'm sorry, but a spirit?" Vega asked for clarification.

"My people do not know much about the Oracle. We do know she comes from your galaxy and she was one of the first races to be annihilated by the reapers. She has spent millions of years trying to convince people to listen to her and fight against the reapers. My race is the first to actually listen to her." Shepard nodded his head thoughtfully. "Now imagine we presented all of that to the Council." He changed his voice to a mocking tone. "'We, the Galactic Order, are following the advice of a spirit to defeat a blight that consists of devil machines that will harvest all life.' How does that sound to you? The Council would believe we are a galaxy-wide cult and I was their cult leader."

Ashley pursed her lips. "I... see. That does make sense. Alright, Shepard... Is that your real name?"

"Real enough," he shrugged. "I've gone by that name longer than I have gone by Jon'ison Tivos. I prefer it at this point. I know this is a lot to take in, but know this: The Alliance will have the full support of the Order in taking back earth and defeating the reapers, but we cannot do this alone. We need the support of the galaxy in order to win this war."

Ashley and Vega looked more at peace with what has said and what he is.

"Now do you two still wish to stay on this ship?"

The two were quiet for a moment before Ashley answered, "Yes, Commander."

"I'm in," Vega added. "Where do we go from here?"

"We need to go to Arcturus and get them informed about what is happening," Shepard replied. "From there we need to meet with the Council about mobilizing the fleets." He called out, "Joker, are we getting close to Arcturus?"

"We're approaching the Charon relay," Joker replied over the comm. "Better head on up. I'm sure the Alliance will have a lot of questions."

"Indeed." Shepard said to Vega and Ash, "We shouldn't keep them waiting."

The three entered the elevator. It took ten seconds before the doors opened again on the CIC deck. As soon as the doors opened, Shepard saw Tali charge at him.

"John!"

"Tali!" he yelled back while rushing to her.

The two lovers embraced. Their arms wrapped around each other tightly to avoid losing each other ever again. Ashley couldn't help but smile from seeing the happy reunion.

"I missed you so much, my love," he muttered to her.

Tali had her head rested on his shoulder. "Please let this be the last time we're apart."

He pulled himself away slightly and looked her in the eyes. "This is the last time." Shepard rested his hands on her waist. Tali rested her hands on his shoulders. "Now, my love, we have much to do. Two galaxies to unite and to save." He leaned forward and whispered, "And much private time to catch up on."

Tali smacked him on the chest, both playfully but hard. "Perverted bosh'tet."

"I don't even want to know," Ashley said.

Tali's hands left Shepard's shoulders. "Oh... Williams. I'm surprised to see you here..."

"I understand you surprised to seeing me here, especially after what happened on Horizon. I've apologize to Shepard about what happened and he has my full support."

"Well..." Tali approached Ash. "If Shepard can forgive, then so can I." She held her hand out. "Welcome back, Ash."

Ashley grabbed her hand and shook. "It's good to be back."

"Well, don't forget about poor Garrus," Garrus said as he joined them. "Welcome back, Williams."

"It's good to see you again, Garrus," Ashley said. "If it were only under better circumstances."

Ashley and Vega saw a krogan and a woman covered in tattoos. Shepard noticed their looks.

"Williams, Vega, these are two more of our ground team that has decided to stay," Shepard said. "This is Urdnot Grunt and this is Jack. I see you grew some hair."

"I thought it was time for a change," Jack said.

"Grunt, Jack, this is Ashley Williams and James Vega."

"Any ally of Shepard is an ally of mine," Grunt stated.

"We're do we go from here, Commander?" Jack asked.

Shepard moved towards the cockpit. Everyone followed behind. "We first head to Arcturus," Shepard said. "There we need to organize the Alliance fleet and then we have to head to the Citadel and organize the Council races."

They reached the cockpit.

"Joker, what's our ETA?"

"We're just making our final approach, Commander," he answered.

Through the glass of the cockpit they could see Arcturus station. The entire Alliance fleet was there. There were thousands of ships of varying classes.

"Why didn't the reapers attack Arcturus?" Joker asked out loud. "Don't the reapers need to go through here to reach earth?"

"The reapers know about every mass relay in this galaxy, it's possible that they know of another relay that connects to Sol and they just used it to get around our defenses. How long until we dock?"

"We'll be docking in several minutes, Commander. Better get ready. This is going to be a shit storm."

VVVVVV

Admiral Hackett stood before the Alliance parliament in a hearing for his desertion and ordering the Alliance fleet tasked with defending earth to retreat through the Charon relay. The Alliance parliament is filled with several hundred elected MPs to represent the humanity and its colonies. The room they were in was large and round. The seats for the MPs were arranged in a circular fashion with 6 rows. The seats surrounded the center where the Prime Minister and the podium from which a speaker addressed from. Today, Admiral Hackett stood at the podium answering questions from the various members of parliament about what happened. Prime Minister Amul Shastri.

"Did you or did you not order our entire fleet to abandon earth?" one of the MPs demanded.

"I gave the order for a full retreat when it became clear that we were severely outmatched," Hackett replied. "Our best chance in this war is to bolster our forces and prepare for a counter attack on the reaper fleet."

"Again with the reapers. They are but a myth. No investigation-"

"With all due respect, you weren't there," he growled. "The reapers are here. And they are very real."

"It's likely the batarians' counter-attack in response to their system being destroyed," another MP responded. "We have no idea of their military capabilities."

"Each of the ships were in similar configuration to Sovereign. Unless you are suggesting that the batarians assisted the geth in the attack on the Citadel-"

"Then this is a geth invasion."

"If the geth had this many ships at their disposal, why didn't they use them in the battle of the Citadel?"

"It was a hard choice, but it was the right one," Shepard said as he entered the room. With him was Jack, Garrus, Grunt, Ashley, Vega and Tali.

"What is the meaning of this?" a lone Terra Firma MP demanded. "This is the House of the Alliance Parliament! Someone get these aliens out of here! Especially the quarian and turian."

"The only reason we still have a chance against the reaper fleet is because of the individuals here," Hackett argued. "I suggest you show some goddamn respect."

"How dare you speak to us in such a tone!" another MP roared.

Shepard and his group made their approach to the center.

"Where's Anderson?" Hackett asked.

Shepard shook his head. "He stayed behind to organize the soldiers on earth."

Amul got up from his chair and reached out his hand. "Commander."

Shepard grabbed it and shook. "Prime Minister."

"It is a pleasure to meet with you. What is the situation on earth?"

"The reapers have landed at key locations around earth," Shepard answered. "Alliance forces are likely to abandon major cities and try to fall back to a more defensible position." Shepard looked to Hackett and nodded. Hackett moved out of his way and Shepard approached the podium. "The reapers are real and they have taken over earth. They have returned from their 50, 000 year slumber to harvest all life in the galaxy."

"This is all utter nonsense!" an MP yelled. "The reapers-"

"Stop this denial!" Shepard roared. "They are attacking earth and unless we do something, trillions will die."

"I request that Shepard and his cohorts be removed from the chambers. This whole reaper conspiracy just goes to show how fragile his mental state is."

"They are not geth," Tali interjected. "I know more about geth than any quarian alive. And we know they are not geth because we have worked with the geth to fight the reapers!"

The chamber was engulfed in voices from all over.

Hackett looked equally surprised. "Care to explain, Commander?"

"Yes," he replied. "Everything we thought we knew about the geth was wrong." Shepard's omni-tool appeared. He pressed a button and files appeared in front of each Member of Parliament and the Prime Minister. They immediately began reading what was before them. "Much of the data before you was provided by the geth platform that we have dubbed 'Legion.' We discovered him in our mission to stop the collectors from abducting human colonies. We learned from him that the geth were split into two factions upon the arrival of Sovereign, or as they have dubbed it 'Nazara.' The faction that joined Sovereign were called Heretics by the main geth faction. The Heretics wanted the reapers to provide them a future, whereas the main geth faction wishes to create their own future. In our mission, Legion discovered that the Heretics were going to use a virus that the reapers created in order to, in laymen terms, rewrite the main geth faction's logic which would convert them over to the Heretics side. We took the initiative and infiltrated the geth station that housed the virus. We reached the core where the virus was and there I made the decision to use the virus against the Heretic geth to rewrite them. The geth promise assistance in our fight against the geth as soon as the situation between the quarians and them has been settled."

"And you take this machine at its word?" an MP scoffed. "You may have doomed us by rewriting them and making the main faction stronger. How do you know that they won't turn on us?"

"Legion had numerous opportunities to kill me and every member of my crew. He has not once shown hostilities. I would go as far to say that the mission would not have been as successful if it weren't for him."

"If you believe this, I'll trust your judgment, Commander," Hackett said.

"Trust his judgment?" the same MP questioned. "This man is responsible for blowing up the Bahak system."

"Which was necessary to delay the reapers," Hackett growled. "The reapers would have arrived months ago without that sacrifice."

"To those who still are not convinced that we are fighting reapers, here," Shepard stated as he sent forth another file. This contained the data from the collector base. "This is all the data we mined from the collector base. Everything to the reaper leader, to what the base was used for, to the revelation that the collectors were protheans. It is irrefutable." This caused the chamber to fill with voices again. "I know this is a shock, but we don't have time to I sent this data off to here and the Council, but it appears only a few actually read through it. Even fewer who actually took action. We have to act."

An MP stood up and asked, "If this is true... then we need to deal with the reapers. You said you were able to work with the geth. Reason with them. Why can't we do the same with the reapers? They're machines as well."

"No," Shepard replied. "Reapers are sapient constructs. A mixture of organic and inorganic materials. They see themselves as godlike beings and everything else is below them. They will wipe out all life in the galaxy."

"These reapers were able to overwhelm our defenses and take over earth with little effort. We need a plan."

"We fight or we die," Shepard said. "That's the plan. But we can't do this alone. If we hope to take back earth and defeat the reaper fleet we need to unite the galaxy."

"We don't need the other races' help!" the Terra Firma MP yelled. "We can handle this ourselves. We took on the turians in the first contact war. We can take back our own home."

"Who the hell elected this dipshit to office?" Jack asked while pointing her thumb at him.

Laughter erupted in the chamber.

"How dare you! You have any idea who I am?"

"A dead man if you talk to me like that again."

"Enough!" Shepard yelled. "I don't think you truly understand exactly what we're up against. This is a threat that has existed for hundreds of millions of years. They have wiped out countless civilizations including the Prothean Empire. Trillions have fallen before them. Millions were harvested and turned into more reapers. This is not a threat we can take on alone. The only hope we have in defeating the reapers is with the help of every race in this galaxy."

"Commander Shepard is right," Hackett said. "If we try to take on the reaper fleet ourselves, we'll just get slaughtered."

"Do we have any other objections to Shepard's reasoning?" Amul asked the chamber. No one else argued further. "Then we bolster our forces and then retaliate."

"Sir, there is one last thing that I must bring up," Shepard said. Amul nodded. "Is anyone familiar with the multiverse theory?" The chamber was once again quiet. "The theory states that there are an infinite number of universes, realms of reality, for every instance. There are universes where the difference between them and this universe can be so minor you can spend a lifetime looking for those differences. Then there are universes that are so vastly different that they are unrecognizable."

"Where are you going with this Commander?" an MP asked.

"In the Armstrong Nebula, in the Hydra system, there is a wormhole. This wormhole leads to an alternate reality."

There was some chatter among the politicians.

"This galaxy contains several races. The rasitians. The praetorins. The exions. The rak'en. The tia'zu. And the articians."

"This is quite fascinating, Commander, but I doubt you brought that up because of its scientific significance," Hackett said.

"That is correct. Fifty thousand years ago, this galaxy was also attacked by the reapers, but because this parallel universe developed outside the influence of the reapers, they were able to develop in a completely unpredictable path. When the reapers attacked fifty thousand years ago, they attempted to wipe out the rak'en. The articians, who were the most advance race in the galaxy at the time, intervened and defeated the reapers that came into their galaxy."

More chatter.

"These races built up their own galactic government called the Order and a military called the Guardians. The articians were the founders. And I am one."

The chamber was quiet from that line. Hackett was visible stunned as was the Prime Minister.

"Excuse me, Commander?" Hackett said.

"I'm not a human," Shepard reiterated. "I am part of the artician race which physically looks exactly like the human-race."

"This is an outrage!" the Terra Firma MP yelled. "Infiltrator! I demand we arrest Shepard! Who knows how much Alliance Intel he has leaked."

"You'll have to go through me," Ashley growled as she stepped forward.

"And me," Vega added.

"Shepard is a hero!" Ashley roared. "He stopped Sovereign from activating the Citadel and starting the reaper invasion right away. He stopped the collectors from harvesting more human colonists. I don't care that he's not human. He has done nothing but give everything he had to the Alliance and this galaxy. The fact that he's not human doesn't change that. I'll be damned if you throw this man in jail."

"I harbour the same sentiment, Williams, but I'd like to know why the alternate universe is interested in our galaxy or," Hackett glanced at Shepard, "why they had one of their own infiltrate our ranks."

"About thirty years ago an organization found the wormhole to our universe," Shepard explained. "Our civilization interacted with them, but mostly through diplomatic means and we heavily restricted their access to our technology. This organization was Cerberus. We underestimated Cerberus determination in acquiring our technology. They started experimenting with our technology behind our backs. They even kidnapped me and experimented on me."

"Why you?" Hackett asked.

"Several reasons," Shepard replied. "I'm actually part of the artician royal family. I'm a prince. And the other reason is because I am a Tiven'Vian. A Tiven'Vian is a... chosen protector, is the best translation. They are born only through royal blood. Their purpose... Their destiny is to protect sentient life from a catastrophe. Tiven'Vians are more powerful than any natural artician. This is why they took me. So they could learn about me. They used that research to open programs to genetically engineer biotic children with expanded powers. Jack here was one of the biotic children who were subjected to the genetic manipulation. One piece of technology that Cerberus experimented with was our medical nanobots. In their experiments, they created a glitch that entered our nanobot network. This glitch change protocols within the nanobots and ended up killing anyone with nanobots in their body. They nanobots then brought their body back to life as, what you humans called, zombies. Trillions were killed as a result of what Cerberus has done. I was able to lead our soldiers as Supreme Commander and we were able to shutdown the network which wiped out all of the zombies at the same time. My specie went extinct during this war, but the other races are still around, thankfully. We vowed we would bring Cerberus to justice for what they've done to our galaxy. Since articians looked like humans, I was sent through to infiltrate human society and learn about your race. We didn't know whether Cerberus was just an independent organization or a representative of your race. We were glad to find that it was the prior. I joined the Alliance to see if I could attain Intel on Cerberus and find out all I could about them. It was during this that we learned of the reapers. We realized that they attacked us fifty thousand years ago. So the catastrophe I was born to fight against is the reapers. I am sorry for the deception, but we had no idea how ingrained Cerberus was in the Alliance, so we couldn't just come right into this galaxy to do a widespread search. We were weakened after the plague and needed to rebuild. We were wary of the Council's law as well, and feared they would try to oppress our society if we became known. One of the Council's laws actually forbids the existence of one of the races of the Order."

"Which one?" Hackett asked.

"AIs. The exions are a race of AIs that my race accidentally created a thousand years ago. They have been a valued member of the Galactic Order for all of that time. I actually have a first generation exion on board the Normandy. We feared that the Council would declare war on us because they would see us as a threat to galactic security."

"If you people knew about the reapers why didn't you warn us?" an MP demanded.

"We could have been more prepared!" another yelled.

"We might not have lost earth!" another chirped in.

The MPs were all in an uproar. All of them outraged that Shepard's government knew about the reapers and did not tell them. This line of thinking enraged not just Shepard, but all of his companions. Each of them were tense in their stance.

"Didn't warn you?" he repeated in a deep rage-filled tone. "Didn't warn you? Are you all mad, or just willfully ignorant? I have been warning the Council and the Alliance of the reaper threat since two and a half years ago. Udina was aware of it. The Council was aware. Anderson was aware of it. Hackett was aware. All of you were aware of it! Don't you dare tell me I didn't warn you. I warned all of you and you chose to ignore my warnings. I have seen Alliance expenses pertaining to the reaper threat. Roughly ten thousand credits was spent 'investigating' my claims. I've spent more on firearms. Millions more was spent to bury everything I have done! You people put more effort into disbelieving me. Hell, Hackett had to make up excuses to negotiate with the Turians to build more dreadnaughts. But let's ignore that for the moment. Our government has been funding research projects in this galaxy to bring attention to the reapers. Everything from research into the Arthenn, Inusannon, Thoi'han and Zeioph races, to co-funding Amanda Kenson's studies. We did everything we could outside of announcing our existence to this galaxy. Don't you dare tell me we did nothing to warn you of the reaper threat."

"Commander," Amul said, but stopped himself. "Do you prefer to still be called Commander?"

"I am Supreme Commander of the Guardians, so addressing me as Commander is fine."

"Commander, where are the Guardians right now?"

"They are on stand-by in the Armstrong Nebula. If you wish, they can come here within ten minutes to add to the forces here. From there we can assist in upgrading your vessels in preparation for the final battle."

"Can we even trust them?" the Terra Firma MP asked. "He's been lying to us for decades."

"The reapers are a threat to all life. Not just in this galaxy... but our own. The Alliance will have our support in this war."

"Shepard has stood by humanity all this time and advanced our interests," Hackett noted. "I trust him."

"I call that we put this to a vote," Amul announced. "To ally with the Guardians and to allow them to come here."

Considering the desperation of the time, the vote came to no surprise. The vote was near unanimous. Only one abstain.

"I will contact the fleet," Shepard said. "Again I am sorry for the deception. We will fight to protect this galaxy against the reapers."

VVVVVV

Shepard sat at a table with his friends next to a viewport. The humans in the room were wary to see them all there.

"So, Commander, do we head to the Citadel after this?" Ashley asked.

"Yup," he replied.

"You think you'll believe you this time?" Garrus said in jest.

"Hope- No, probably not. But I am done playing nice. If they refuse to open their eyes, we'll make them see."

"I'm good at prying things open," Grunt chuckled.

This engendered a laugh from the group.

"We should go give Liara a visit as well," Jack suggested. "She might be able to give us more help."

"What is Liara doing now?" Ashley asked.

"Things," Tali muttered. "We can't say here."

"Yeah, we'll check in with Liara. As soon as we do, we should deal with the geth/quarian conflict. That needs to be resolved before any lives are lost."

"Will the Migrant Fleet accept negotiations with the geth?" Vega asked.

"It'll be tough," Tali said. "Many harbour a deep-seated hatred of the geth. It'll be tough to convince them."

"Commander," Hackett said as he approached the table. "Mind if we speak for a moment."

"Not at all, Admiral," Shepard said as he got up from the table.

Shepard followed Hackett into another room. The room was empty of occupants. The wall had a large viewport that gave a good view of the Alliance fleet.

"Admiral, look..." Shepard said. "I am sorry for lying to you for this long."

"You did what you had to," Hackett finished for him.

This surprised Shepard. "I'm surprised you're this understanding."

"I'm pragmatic, Commander. I didn't get to where I am without my pragmatism. I understand your point-of-view. You did give the Alliance ample warning about the reapers, but they decided to just bury it all. I was close to resigning in disgust, but I know how important it is for me to keep my position. Anyways... You've spent your life protecting humans and you never deviated from that. I respect that. You may not be human, but I respect anyone willing to sacrifice everything including their own life, to save the many."

"Thank you, sir."

A tear appeared in the fabric of space just ahead.

"It looks like the fleet is here."

Several of the Guardian ships came through the tear.

"You have a mission to do, Commander. I'll be here organizing the fleet." Hackett and Shepard turned to each other. Hackett reach out his hand. Shepard grabbed it and shook. "Good luck, Commander."


	41. Unite

Chapter 39: Unite

_Inside an unknown darkened laboratory, a woman looks into a device similar to a microscope. Her features were masked by the shadows that engulfed her body. Her hand moved towards a plate near the bottom of the device and a small blue spark jumped from it. She tapped on her desk right after. The desk showed no holograms to display what she inputted, but she had the layout memorized. The command was sent. A blue holographic screen appeared across the room._

"_Reaction observation 505 has been added," the synthetic voice announced._

_The blue screen disappeared and the woman continued her experiments in isolation, darkness and silence. The blue holographic screen came back and the synthetic voice announced, "Warning: Facility infiltrated. Multiple hostiles detected. Defenses have been activated. Warning: Hostiles are eliminating base defenses."_

_The scientist jumped from her chair and started imputing commands into the desk next to her._

"_Data purge has been activated. Please wait until purge is complete before initiating any further commands."_

_The scientist grabbed an object from her desk. The silhouette of the object suggested it was a pistol. She crouched behind her desk and watched the entrance._

"_Warning: Hostiles have reached the laboratory entrance."_

_The door blew open. The woman cringed from the bright light. She fired several rounds at any silhouettes that appeared in the blinding light. One of the heavily armoured soldiers groaned as the rounds penetrated his armour. A small object flew towards her. She looked down only to see the small object exploded into a large spray of smoke and gas. The gas made her feel weak. Her pistol suddenly felt too heavy to hold. It fell from her hands and landed on the ground._

_Once the armoured soldiers heard the clanked of her pistol, they rushed into the room. The woman fell to her side and watched the soldiers in bulky white armour enter her lab. One of them rushed to her desk and started reversing her orders._

"_Purge cancelled. Five percent of data destroyed."_

_The soldier with the light-weight armour walked over to her. She was temporarily paralyzed. The soldier let out a muffled chuckle. The light was still too blinding for her to get too many details. The soldier wore white armour and the eyes of his helmet glowed red._

"_You were close doctor, but not close enough," he said in his muffled tone. "I'm disappointed you would try to destroy this valuable data. This data will advance our race farther than any of us could dream possible. Now for this transgression against our specie I would kill you, but... That will not be your fate today." The soldier grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up. Those red eyes haunted her. "Our leader wants you alive to make sure you continue this research to further our specie's evolution. And you will continue it. Your life depends on it."_

Shepard launched up in his bed gasping for air. His hands went to his throat as he searched for the phantom hands that wrapped around his throat. As soon as he realized there were no hands there, his breathing eased back into its gentle pace. He wondered what he had just witnessed. He hasn't had a vision since before his death and hasn't spoken to the Oracle since his time in the spirit realm.

"What are you trying to show me, Oracle?" he asked aloud in a whisper. His question went unanswered. Shepard has grown tired of her elusive nature and her long-term silence. Now that the reapers are here, it seemed even more inappropriate that she hasn't tried contacting him. 'Why?' he thought. 'What are you waiting for? What were you trying to tell me through that vision? Who was that woman?'

Shepard sat at his bedside. He looked to the empty side of his bed. Tali was still working in engineering. Shepard was in his cabin trying to get some rest before they approached the Citadel. He guessed by now they were getting close to the Citadel and it was best that he get dressed in his armour.

Shepard got out of bed and walked over to his locker. The door slid open. Over his armour cube was a paper note. Shepard picked it up and read the note.

Shepard,

I added a new upgrade to your suit. I hope this dual omni-blade upgrades serve you well.

-Xiltro

"Damn it," he choked as tears came to his eyes. His fist pounded the wall next to the locker. "Damn it."

Shepard sighed sadly. "Xiltro..." He wiped away his tears. Shepard pulled the Dumat armour out and slid his hands into the holes to activate the armour transformation. The armour reconstructed over his body. Once the last of the armour came together on his body, Shepard raised his hands and clenched his fists. A hologram interface appeared over his forearm and hand. In a split second, the omni-blade extended from the holographic interface. Shepard examined the red blades before him. He unclenched his fists and the blades vanished from sight.

Shepard walked to his left and turned to face his fish tank. He looked at Xiltro's note and then let it drop from his hand. Shepard rested his head against the tank and closed his eyes.

"I don't know how much more I can take," he said.

"You have gone through a lot," a voice chimed in.

Shepard turned and saw a man standing there. The man wore a formal navy blue suit and was much older than Shepard. He had short black hair and a neatly trimmed goatee beard. He had slight wrinkles at the corner of his blue eyes. His eyes were both gentle and intense.

"But the end of your journey is near."

"I have been fighting in a perpetual state of war since I was a child," Shepard argued. He grits his teeth. "I'm tired. I am so damn tired of fighting. Of killing. Of watching my friends die left and right. The reapers have been at this for hundreds of millions of years and I don't know if I am ready for what is to come."

Shepard felt delicate fingers brush against his neck. He looked to his right and saw a woman with long red hair. She was around the same age as the man. Her eyes were bright green and filled with a compassionate spirit. She wore a long dark green gown.

"All great leaders question whether they are doing the right thing," she said. "You are ready and you have the friends and allies to support you through these dark times." Her hands fell upon Asha Bel. Shepard lifted the sword as her hands rested on its hilt. The crystal at the end glowed. "Keep this by your side as it is key to cleansing the blight."

"It's... It's not just the battle ahead that worries me. But how the battles I've faced affecting me. I haven't had a normal life. I've have been either fighting or under cover since I was five. How am I to be the man Tali deserves?"

A laugh came from a third individual who walked out from behind Shepard's display case. The woman looked like the previous woman but she was around Shepard's age.

"That woman loves you to death. You have treated her better than anyone in her life."

"And what of my mental state?" Shepard countered. "Tali deserves someone stable. Look at me. I'm talking to you three. You all have been dead for over fifteen years and Articians have never been able to contact the spirits of other dead Articians. You three are just apparitions. Figments of my broken mind."

"Baby brother," I'ana said. "Just because we are not spirits, doesn't mean we are any less real nor does it make the things we say any less true."

"You are the leader these galaxies need for this cataclysm," his father said.

"And you are a good person," his mother added. She approached him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "We are so proud of you."

Shepard got teary eyed and choked. "I miss you three so much."

"We miss you too, son," his father said. "Continue what you're doing and know that we will always love you."

As quickly as they appeared, the three apparitions dissipated from Shepard's room.

"Goodbye, father, mother I'ana," he muttered solemnly.

VVVVVV

Ashley approached the cockpit of the Normandy. She noticed the crew members, both Alliance and ex-Cerberus, were uneasy. Joker spun around in his chair.

"Williams," he said.

"Hey, Joker. Are we getting close to the Citadel?"

"We are making our final approach," EDI said.

"What she said," Joker said while pointing to her with his thumb.

It was still unnerving to be speaking with an AI for Williams, but according to Shepard the exions has been his race's allies for centuries. She trusted him enough to try and work with "her." "EDI, could you give Shepard a call and let him know we are making our final approach?"

"Right away, Miss Williams."

VVVVVV

Shepard sat at his desk. He was in the middle of a video conversation with an Asian woman. Her mouth was open in shock and was speechless.

"I know this is a lot to take in, Emily-"

"A bit of an understatement. This is the biggest news story of a lifetime. If you didn't send me the data, I would have called you crazy, but this... This is phenomenal. Despite what the most extreme members of our race have done to your galaxy, you are still willing to help us. Though what you are asking me to do-"

"I'm not asking you to do anything. This is just a worst case scenario. The truth must get out if anything happens to me or my crew."

"But why me?"

"Your one of a few people I know who has integrity and a willingness to fight to know the truth. You're a damn good reporter. And you haven't tried doing a smear job on me like Al-Jilani."

"Can I trust that you'll do this if you don't hear from me?"

"Of course, Commander."

"Good. I'll speak to you soon."

"Here's hoping." The video feed cut out.

"Commander," EDI chimed in. "We are making our final approach to the Citadel."

"I'll be right down, EDI."

"Yes, Commander." EDI vanished from the display terminal.

Shepard stood up and raised his arms. The two omni-blades extended from his forearms. "Show time."

VVVVVV

Shepard and his team rode up in the elevator up the Citadel tower. The Council frankly didn't even want to see Shepard, but acting as a representative of the Alliance and to debrief them of the situation on earth, forced their hand. Shepard wasn't expecting a warm welcome.

Each member of Shepard's team, including Shepard himself, wore their combat armour. This was simple due to protocol that all groundside team members were to wear their combat gear when off of the Normandy and not on shore leave.

The elevator reached the top of the tower. Shepard and his group exit out. It has been over two years since he was up here. There was an element of nostalgia as his Spectre status was given to him there. As they walked towards the Council area, Shepard made note that there were no politicians or military officials around.

"Shepard have you noticed-" Ashley tried to get out.

"The lack of anyone," Shepard finished.

"Yeah."

"It is possible that the Council wants this conversation to be private," Vega noted.

"Or they prepared an ambush with no collateral damage," Grunt said.

"I'm leaning towards that idea," Jack agreed.

"We'll be fine," Shepard assured them. "I made sure of it."

"How?" Garrus asked.

"If things go south, you'll see." Shepard then grinned widely.

They saw the stairs ahead that led up to the stand where they would address the Council. They reached the top and saw the four Councilors above them. None of them looked pleased. Shepard's team stood by the top of the stairs while he walked to the podium.

"Councilors," he said plainly. "I'm glad we could meet."

"As a sent representative of the Alliance we've had little choice," Velarn growled. "Frankly knowing what you've done, I'm surprised you haven't been executed. Wiping out an entire system killing hundreds of thousands of batarians."

Shepard glared at Udina. "I see you notified them."

"I believed it was necessary considering what you've done and the inevitability that your Spectre status would be revoked over your actions," he said.

"Well, considering current events I believe my review as a Spectre will have to be postponed." Shepard saw animosity grow in each of the Councilors. "At this point... Saying 'I told you so'... Just doesn't even come close to cutting it. But I'm not here to gloat. The reapers are here and we need to unite together if we wish to fight back." Shepard noticed their neutral expression like they weren't impressed. "Is there something wrong?"

"Many things," Velarn replied. "Such as your mental stability."

"What the hell are you talking about? Earth has been taken by the reapers." Shepard jabbed his finger at Udina. "Surely even you should show some concern over your homeworld!"

"We already have plans in motion," Udina answered. "It is clear what has happened to earth. The batarians have finally retaliated after you committed genocide of their race. Now thanks to you, untold numbers of humans are suffering."

"You stupid bastard!" Ashley roared. "How much do you need to see to actually believe these are the reapers. Did you not read Shepard's report after he went through the Omega-4 relay?"

"That report was filed away as soon as it arrived," Katlyo, the salarian, said.

"You didn't read my report?" Shepard asked in disbelief.

"We've had enough of your wild imaginings, and we couldn't accept any evidence from you without the risk of it being bias towards your assumptions."

"But what about right now? Earth has been taken by hundreds of reapers. Sentient starships all of them just like Sovereign. How do you explain that?"

"We wondered as well until we remembered the Leviathan of Dis," Katlyo answered. "Back in Earth year 2163, a batarian survey discovered a large starship that was partially biological in nature. Shortly after its discovery the starship disappeared and the Hegemony have adamantly denied it even exists."

"It's obvious that the batarians have reverse-engineered the starship over the decades and have been preparing for war with humanity," Tevos concluded. "They have just been waiting for an event to justify their actions. An event like you wiping out the Bahak system and killing three hundred thousand."

"Unbelievable," Shepard muttered in anger. "Just unbelievable. Your incompetence and ignorance goes beyond what I thought possible for any sentient being in a high level of office. Even after everything that has happened. Even after handing you the goddamn reports, Intel and data we have gathered for our investigation, you just filed it away before even reading it! Millions are dead because of you four."

"No," Velarn countered. "Millions are dead because of you. Your mental instability has led you to working with a human-extremist organization and you even fooled yourself and those working with you that the reapers are coming. You even destroyed a star system to prevent their 'arrival.'" Velarn used finger quotes to punctuate that last word.

"The Commander isn't crazy," a voice called out.

Everyone looked into the direction of the voice. Walking towards them was Nihlus along with half a dozen heavily armed soldiers. Noticing their weapons and armour types, Shepard concluded they were also Spectres.

"I was there with Shepard for his entire mission," Nihlus called out. "I was there with him when we went through the Omega-4 relay. Shepard isn't crazy and the reapers are very real."

"Agent Nihlus," Katlyo said in a neutral tone.

"Everything Shepard has said is true. I suggest you listen to him. Now."

Valern's mandibles spread open in annoyance. "It appears that Shepard's insanity is infectious."

"You can't be serious! You can't tell me you are all not going to do anything!"

"We didn't say we weren't going to do anything," Katlyo said.

"What are you talking about?" Shepard demanded.

Suddenly they heard dozens upon dozens of footsteps fill the area. They all looked around and saw C-Sec officers appear all over. They populated the lower and upper floors. Each of them were dressed in combat armour and looked like they were ready to fight the second battle of the Citadel. Each C-Sec officer aimed their assault rifles, pistols, submachine guns, sniper rifles and shotguns at both groups. Grunt snarled at this betrayal. Jack gritted her teeth.

"We plan to make things right," Udina sneered. "We are placing you all under arrest and will be handing you over to the Hegemony to which we will then go into talks with them where we will negotiate for them to leave earth."

Shepard's and his friends' mouths were gaped in shock. They were stupefied by the Council's reasoning and ignorance.

"Words cannot even begin to describe just how goddamn stupid you four are," Shepard growled.

"Commander..."

Shepard turned and saw Bailey who was also in armour. "Bailey. How's Kolyat?"

"He's doing well. Look, Commander, I'm sorry, but we have to follow our orders."

"I know." Shepard turned his attention back to the Council. "It seems this conversation has devolved into who brought the most guns and soldiers." He briefly pursed his lips. Shepard snapped his fingers which made every soldier in the area tense up.

Chiming sounds came from all over the area. Distortions appeared everywhere. In seconds, soldiers of various races appeared all over the Council chamber as their invisibility cloaks dissipated. There were two Guardian soldiers for every C-Sec agent. The soldiers had their weapons trained on the C-Sec agents. Half a dozen soldiers appeared around the Councilors themselves. The C-Sec officers immediately lowered their weapons upon seeing such an overwhelming force. Any action against these unknown aliens would only prove to be suicidal.

"I win," Shepard stated.

"LONG LIVE COMMANDER SHEPARD!" the soldiers yelled. "LONG LIVE THE ORDER!"

"What is the meaning of this?" Udina demanded.

"Shepard?" Bailey got out in shock.

"Please holster your weapon, Bailey," Shepard ordered.

"Goddess, he initiated first contact with several races," Tevos said.

"I did not initiate first contact," Shepard told them. "These are my people. And we are tired of waiting for your four to take action."

"Your people?" Velarn repeated.

Shepard activated his omni-tool. Several holograms appeared before him. Each of the holograms displayed the ministers of the Order and even Corola, the asari, who has assumed the role as "The voice of the rachni."

"So this is the Council," the praetorin representative scoffed. "I'm not impressed."

"Who are you?" Udina asked the individuals.

"We are the ministers of the Galactic Order," the rasitian answered. "We speak for our races."

"Impossible that you would escape STG's notice," Katlyo accused.

"We are good at staying hidden when needed," the tia'zu said.

A furious rage filled Udina's eyes. He jabbed his finger at Shepard. "This is an outrage! You betrayed our governments... Turn against your own specie to work with them?"

The ministers laughed at the comment.

"Shepard has never turned against his own specie," the exion stated. "Shepard isn't even human, just like me."

The Councilors jaws were open in shock.

"Ridiculous!" Valern roared. "Of all the things! You are clearly human! Both of you!"

"Really?" the exion said sarcastically. "How 'bout now?" His eyes glowed.

Valern's omni-tool activated. A hologram of eyes appeared before him. The eyes expanded and formed a full sized hologram of the minister that looked hyper realistic. "Or how about this?" He pointed to the omni-tool. The omni-tool started playing an audio file from Valern's records.

"I looked forward to seeing you tonight," the female voice said in a seductive tone. "Last night was amazing. Just give your wife some excuse." The voice was that of a turian, but not Valern's wife. If Valern's face could blush, it would have been deep red.

Tevos was shocked at hearing the recording that proved Valern was cheating on his wife.

"You're an AI," Katlyo gasped.

"I prefer electronic entity." The exion's hologram vanished from sight. His eyes stopped glowing.

"Then Shepard..."

"No, no, no. Shepard isn't an exion like me. Our race's physical traits were designed after the race that created us. Shepard's race. The articians."

"The time for truth has finally come," the rak'en started. The Councilors listened intently. "We are a galactic organization that exists in a parallel universe. Our government has operated for eons. Over twenty five years ago, an organization called Cerberus came through the wormhole that connected our universes."

"So you're working with Cerberus," Valern scoffed.

One of the soldiers near him rifle butted his stomach causing him to lose his breath. This brought a smile to Shepard's face. With so many soldiers with their weapons trained on the C-Sec agents, none of the agents dared try to act.

"We had a diplomatic relationship with them, but we restricted their access to our technology. Sadly they didn't abide by our laws. They went behind our backs at tried to modify the technology, specifically the medical nanobot network. They introduced a glitch into the network that modified how the nanobots worked. The glitch immediately killed two trillions members of our galaxy. Those who died then came back again as cannibalistic berserkers. Millions more died. Cerberus just left us with the disaster. We spent five years fighting a war. A war we wouldn't have won if it weren't for our Supreme Commander here. Prince John Shepard."

"Prince?" Tevos said.

The exion laughed loudly. "Yes, all this time you treated him like some crazy, mindless grunt, he is one of the highest ranked politicians in our galaxy. He is, by blood, nobility. He volunteered for the mission to infiltrate this galaxy and bring Cerberus to justice."

"Instead you joined them," Udina stated.

"We infiltrated them!" the tia'zu roared. "We wanted to learn all we could about that Architect forsaken organization. Through prophecy we were able to bring Shepard back to life and learn about Cerberus' structure."

"I'm sorry, prophecy?" Tevos asked.

"The prophecy of the Tiven'Vians," the exion answered. "Tiven'Vians are individuals born of noble blood. Shepard as this generation's Tiven'Vian had to face many trials to fulfill his destiny as a Tiven'Vian and lead us against the cataclysm that our galaxy faces. The Trial of Metamorphosis was the last trial. It involved him dying and coming back to life. We made sure he came back."

"It's impossible to bring someone back to life," Tevos declared.

"Not impossible. Just... Very difficult, even with our technology. We used Cerberus' resources without them knowing and used it to bring back Shepard who then went undercover to learn about Cerberus. We wanted to destroy Cerberus."

"But priorities have changed since several years ago," the praetorin said. "With the discovery of the reaper threat."

"This again?" Valern sighed loudly.

"They are no myth, and they are no laughing matter. We should know. We fought them with the articians fifty thousand years ago to stop them from wiping out the rak'en. Around the same time the protheans went extinct."

"Y-You fought them?" Tevos asked.

"We did. That puts a giant hole in your 'the geth built Sovereign' theory."

"You have no proof!" Valern roared. "We are just to believe that you fought the reapers fifty thousand years ago? That you come from another galaxy?"

"We do have proof." The praetorin's omni-tool activated. Each of the Councilor's omni-tools activated. "The files you've just received is Shepard's report, which alone has all the evidence you need to prove the reapers are real. It also includes information about us. Enough to prove we are what we say we are. Read them." That wasn't a request but a demand.

Fearing that these soldiers would fire upon them if they didn't comply, they started reading the files. They all stood there waiting for the Councilors read through the files for the next thirty minutes. It was a very tense atmosphere. Shepard could see the Councilor's eyes widen at any and all major revelations within the files. Katlyo was the first to finish. He looked up from the holographic display. His hands were shaking.

"I-I..." he tried to say. "We were wrong. All this time."

A small smirk came to Shepard's face. Finally they have opened their eyes to the truth.

"All this time..." Tevos tried to get out.

"And your people knew about them?" Valern growled. "Why didn't you try to warn us?"

"Are you serious?" Nihlus muttered. "What the hell has Shepard been doing? He has been warning all of you of the reaper threat."

"He never offered any proof!"

"He has been right at every turn during his hunt for Saren. He was right that Sovereign was going to attack the Citadel."

"Being right often does not grant him complete credibility, especially when it comes to claims of sentient starships," Tevos argued.

"You four sat on the solid evidence he gave you close to half a year ago," Ash pointed out.

"We didn't think-"

"And that is the root of all our problems, isn't it?" Shepard said aloud. "You didn't think."

"Don't deflect our question, Commander," Katlyo said irritating. He added emphasis on the word "Commander" as if it was in question. "We weren't talking about your warnings during your hunt for Saren or your mission to stop the reapers. We are talking about why your organization didn't warn us of the reapers when it had knowledge of them."

"You speak in rational hindsight," Shepard said. "Our organization did not have any proof of the reapers that would convince you to take action against them. Despite my every warning, you have ignored me. Were we to believe just because we were an organized power that you would believe us? If we believed you would have believed us, then we would have all came out and said the reapers are coming."

"We still don't understand why you kept your existence a secret," Tevos said.

"We have read your history. You have a long sad history of irrational decisions that has caused great harm to the races of your galaxy. We have read how the Hierarchy attacked human ships for activating a mass relay. A law was broken that they didn't even know about. You invaded their world and bombarded their cities from orbit. Then we can go back where you uplifted the krogan to fight a war for you. Wiping out the rachni. Sterilizing the krogan. Outlawing research and the existence of AIs. Taking away the quarians' embassy. Even threatening to bombard them to extinction when they tried colonizing a planet. And I haven't even mentioned your Spectre corp. Your black ops group with little to no oversight. While my people have a similar group called the Knights Order, we keep a close eye on all of them and expect them to follow rules when it comes to doing their job. Your government's history is filled with war crimes and rash actions that has harmed the many in the long term. Knowing all of that... You think that it would be a smart decision to reveal ourselves after we just fought a war that wiped out my specie and around 85% of all other races? Even staying in the shadows, we did everything within our power to get your galaxy to question where your technology came from. What happened to the protheans? We co-funded dozens of projects. Amanda Kenson's study was our most recent and most successful attempt at making the galaxy question the origin of the mass relays."

"We have been forced to reveal ourselves due to your incompetence, ignorance, apathy and lethargy," the rasitian said. "We will not allow our two galaxies shared the fate of all the species before yours."

"So we ask you," the tia'zu continued, "what will you do now?"

"Do we still have a chance?" Katlyo asked.

This brought a smile the Order's leaders.

"We still have a chance," Shepard answered. "We still have hope. Each of you need to contact your homeworlds as soon as possible. Your militaries need to mobilize and prepare for a large-scale counter attack against the reapers."

None of the councilors argued with him.

"Then it will be done," Tevos said. "To fight against this galaxy-wide threat."

"We look forward to the final battle," the exion said.

The holographic display of each of the leaders vanished. Shepard looked this his soldiers. "Guardians, dismissed!"

The soldiers vanished from sight as their cloaks went into effect. Most of the C-Sec officers felt it was safe enough to pick up their weapons.

"While your organize your races, my crew and I need to deal with the quarian/geth situation before it gets out of control."

"Very well, Commander," Tevos said. "And if it means anything... We're sorry."

Before Shepard left the area he said, "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. Unfortunately, many of them aren't around to hear the apology."

Shepard walked by Bailey who said, "You are just full of surprises, Commander."

Shepard shook his head. "You don't know the half of it." He looked to Nihlus. "You joining us?"

"Wish I could Shepard, but I have hundreds of other Spectres to get together. I wish you good luck."

"You as well."

VVVVVV

Shepard and his crew exited out of the Citadel Tower and entered the Presidium. The area looked as it did before the attack on the Citadel. Shepard figured the next best step was to head to Hagalaz and speak with Liara. By now she must have found new to assist them in their mission.

"Commander Shepard!" a familiar voice called out.

Shepard looked in the direction of the voice and saw it was Khalisah Al-Jilani. He grit his teeth as she approach him and his friends.

"I really don't have time for this," he said to her.

"I only want a quick interview," she argued.

"I'm on a mission," he said as he tried walking by her.

"Maybe someone else will talk." Al-Jilani directed her camera drone at Tali and activated it. "Miss Zorah is it true that you are in a relationship with Commander Shepard."

"What?" Tali gasped in shock as the tabloid reporter quickly focused her attention on her. "I-I-"

Shepard moved himself in between them. "Hey! Have you no shame?"

"I'm just trying to do my job, Commander. I came here for the news. If I can't get answers from you, then I'll get it from somewhere else. Might as well be you."

"Fine," he relented.

"Now my first question is exactly what I was asking the quarian. Are the rumors true that the two of you are in a relationship?"

Shepard looked to Tali who wringed her hands nervously. He smiled and returned his look to Al-Jilani. "Yes, it is true."

"Really? Surely a man of your caliber could do better?"

"Better? This woman has been with me my entire life. She has been there for me in the best and worse times in my life. She stood strong against forces that would destroy most people. And you're asking me if I do better?"

"I'm just saying you could find a woman you can see the face of, or even kiss. Like an asari or a human. Like what about Agent Williams there?" Al-Jilani pointed to her. "Many would love to see you two together. Or even Doctor T'Soni."

Ash grasped her face and groaned in annoyance.

"I'm not going to date someone because of their race. It's a person's character that matters to me."

"Still how do you expect this relationship to last if you can never see her face?"

Shepard took some steps towards Al-Jilani. There was an aggression in his approach. It caused her to back away in defense.

"Love goes beyond the physical. Love is about being there for someone when times are good and bad. Being the support they need. Tali has always been there for me. She has been my support during the rough times of my life. That's what matters most to me."

Knowing that she couldn't trip Shepard up over his choice in love partner, Al-Jilani changed the direction of the interview in hopes of catching Shepard off guard on camera. She wasn't about to let this third chance go by without finally getting the interview to make her come out as the reporter who caught Shepard with his pants down. Hell, even getting him to punch her in the face for frustration at a question of hers would do a lot to improve her standing as a news reporter.

"Now Commander, the records said you died when the Normandy SR-1 was attacked over two years ago. A funeral was even held for you. If you weren't dead, where were you? Many believed this lie was a betrayal."

"The attack was devastating and I ended up being spaced. I was horribly injured and went into a coma. Only a handful of people knew I was alive. My injuries were tended to, and the few people who knew I was alive did everything they could to wake me up. An effort which took two years."

"But why?" Al-Jilani demanded. "Why would they keep the secret of you surviving the attack on the Normandy?"

"It's somewhat complicated."

"The public deserves to know."

"I have informants and operatives who have infiltrated Cerberus. Learn about their operations, even sabotage them. My death was downplayed in order to allow an opportunity to manifest. Not long after my supposed death, human colonies were disappearing on a massive scale. With the help of my infiltrators, we were able to trick Cerberus into thinking I was desperate for help to take down whomever was taking the colonies. While completely immoral, Cerberus didn't like the idea of thousands of humans disappearing without a trace. They threw a lot of resources at me, while they thought they could manipulate me to follow their ideals."

"Did you find out who was abducting the colonists?"

"It was the collectors."

"The collectors?" Al-Jilani asked in disbelief. "But they're a myth."

"They are very real."

"And the colonists? What happened to them?"

"I'm afraid only one colonist survived being abducted by the collectors. I would like to ensure those who have lost a loved one due to these abductions that the collectors have been stopped and will not being taking anyone every again."

"Hundreds of thousands of colonists were taken and you were only able to save just one?" Al-Jilani didn't bother hiding the disgust in her tone. "Can you even call that a success?"

Anger came across Shepard's face. Al-Jilani smiled in hopes that he would finally snap. "It is better than no lives." Again he took more steps towards Al-Jilani making her back away from his imposing presence. "My team did everything we could. We didn't save everyone, but that doesn't mean that this mission wasn't successful. We went through the Omega-4 relay, destroyed their base and came back alive while saving at least one poor soul. Hundreds of thousands more have been spared the fate that the colonists faced. My team risked their lives to accomplish even that. Do not demean their sacrifice."

Al-Jilani gulped in nervousness. "S-Sorry, Commander. Next question. Now as most of the galaxy knows, earth has been attacked. The Alliance immediately retreated from the system leaving earth to fend for itself. Most believe that this is a batarian invasion. Can you shed light on the situation?"

"The Hegemony was not responsible for the attack on earth."

"Then who is?"

At this point it didn't make sense to lie about the threat anymore. The reapers are not going to just focus on earth and it's best if the galaxy is warned of what's to come. "The reapers."

"The reapers?" She used the same tone as when she heard of the collectors. "But they were-"

"Dismissed?" Shepard finished. "They are real and they have arrived. The Alliance retreated out of the system because the reaper fleet is too powerful to take on alone. The attack on the Citadel two years as done by Sovereign, a reaper, so you can imagine how strong they are. I have been tasked to help organize the races of this galaxy in preparation of a massive counter-attack against the reapers."

"I-If the reapers are real then why weren't we warned? Why weren't we told the truth?"

Here Shepard would have to lie to avoid destabilization of the galactic government. While it is the Council's fault this galaxy wasn't more prepared for the reapers. They will face justice after the war. "The Council didn't want to panic the galaxy. In secret they have been preparing for the reapers' arrival. They are currently organizing for the counter-attack I mentioned earlier."

"Can't the Alliance take on this threat by ourselves? We do have a powerful military. And surely the mighty Commander Shepard could "

Ignorance. Shepard despised it. This woman has been "This isn't some pirate army that caught the Alliance off guard. This is a fleet of sentient starships millions of years old. They have slaughtered untold numbers of people." Again Shepard moved closer to Al-Jilani causing he to continue backwards. "But as strong as they are, they are not invisible. We stopped them from taking the Citadel. We stopped their minions, the collectors, from taking anymore colonies. We will stop them from taking this galaxy. We will fight. We will take back earth and make the reapers regret every coming out of dark space."

Al-Jilani wasn't paying attention as she backed away step by step. She soon lost the walkway behind her. Her foot hit the curb at the edge of the walkway. She fell over and landed into the lake behind it. "Damn it!" she cursed as she landed in the water. Her fall engendered a laugh from Shepard's crew.

"Oh, man did you see her waving her arms as she fell," Jack laughed.

"We will be victorious," Shepard announced as he stood by the waterfront. "Good day. This interview is over." He walked away with his crew right behind him.

It's going to be a long mission.


	42. Out of the Shadows

Chapter 40: Out of the Shadows

Two months ago...

The Illusive Man sat in his chair in his new private chamber. Just like his last private sanctuary, the room was only lit by the orange holographic screens and the system's star that the station orbited. The star burnt a bright red. He went over several different OSD reports that outlined the current status of Cerberus. Due to the amount of resources that were put into the Lazarus project and due to recent attacks and failures, Cerberus was on the verge of collapse.

The reports he sifted through did not offer any good news either. Cerberus funding was at an all time low. The Alliance has been cracking down on sponsors of their organization. Their resources are almost down to nothing. Even recruitment has dwindled.

The only thing TIM could think was cursing Shepard for his deception and naivety. TIM couldn't help but blame himself for Cerberus' decline. He should have seen the resemblance between him and that young child from decades ago. It all made sense in retrospect. He uses a sword as his primary weapon. His ability to use biotics without an amp. The warnings were all there and yet he didn't realize it. TIM could only conclude that he was so convinced that the articians were gone that he didn't see the signs of infiltration.

There was one semblance of good fortune from the exchange he last had with Shepard. He implied that his galaxy is on the brink of extinction. His race on the other hand. 'I survived!' Those two words. He admitted that he's the only artician left. This explains their secrecy. They are weak and vulnerable. This information may prove to be useful later.

Even with that bit of good news, he still had to do something about Cerberus. If their organization falls, so will humanity. One and the same.

The door to his sanctuary opened. He glanced back to see his female assistant walk in. She had a smile on her face as she walked confidently towards him with an OSD in hand. The assistant raised the hand that held the OSD as she reached him. The Illusive Man took the OSD and started to read it.

"It's ready," she notified him.

TIM stabbed the burning end of his cigarette into the ashtray of his chair. "Have all precautions been made?"

"Yes, sir."

TIM took one last sip of his whiskey before pushing himself out of his chair. "I'm heading there now." He briskly left the room leaving the assistant behind. Illusive Man walked down the hallways at a steady pace, occasionally passing random Cerberus operatives. The hallways had some exposed wall panels due to construction still in progress on the station.

The corridor eventually led him to his destination. The door before him had the label "DETAINMENT OBSERVATION - TOP LEVEL ACCESS ONLY" above it in white levels superimposed over a red banner. Two soldiers stood on both sides of the door. Each wore Hydra medium armour. One soldier was armed with a standard Avenger assault rifle while the other was armed with a flamethrower. The two soldiers immediately saluted the Illusive Man as he approached.

"Sir!" they both said.

"Are you here to-" one the soldiers tried to get out.

"Yes," Illusive Man answered.

"Do you wish for one of us to accompany you, sir?"

"That will not be necessary."

"Then go right ahead, sir."

The doors swished opened. As soon as TIM walked through, the doors closed behind him and locked. The room was very small and dimly lit. It was just about eight by eight feet. The only noticeable feature of the room was the window that covered half the wall across from the door. On the other side of the glass was another room of equal size and lighting. The glass itself is the same type used for starships. Nothing short of a torpedo would be able to break it. Since the previous incident, they had to ensure all precautions were taken. Cerberus cannot afford to have another failure.

Just a couple feet away from the glass, there was a man who sat in a fetal position. His head was partially tucked in between his chest and thighs. TIM tapped the holographic panel next to the glass and said, "I was hoping we could talk."

The man's head rose up. He then slowly got up to his feet. His motion was fluid and not erratic.

The man's name was Tyler Lader. He was part of the one-half of colonists who survived the collector attack on Horizon. The man lost his family in that raid. Around the time when thoughts of suicide were omnipresent, he was contacted by Cerberus with an offer to ensure that this never happened to another colony ever again. This was an opportunity he couldn't refuse. Despite not having much behind him than his colonial security guard position. He was quite unremarkable.

Though it wasn't his job or motivations that interested Cerberus in him. His motivations and emotional state were just something they took advantage of in order to get him to join. What interested Cerberus was the fact that he was a purely family man. He had no circle of friends nor any extended family. He's a man who could disappear without many questions being raised. While an unremarkable man, what he has provided Cerberus with a remarkable opportunity.

Combined with the information and scientific results that was bought from Aria and this "volunteer", Cerberus now has the opportunity to speak with the devil.

The man stood up straight. He slowly turned around. When his face came into view, his glowing yellow eyes immediately caught the Illusive Man's attention. The light seemed to pulsate. The rate seemed to increase as the avatar stared at the Illusive Man.

"ILLUSIVE MAN," the omnipotent being said in its deep, intimidating voice. Even TIM felt a chill run down his back upon hearing its words. "WE KNOW OF YOU. ANOTHER SPECK OF COSMIC DUST THAT NAIVELY STANDS AGAINST THE INEVITABLE. IGNORANT OF THE FORCES THAT IT FACES. WHY DO YOU SPEAK TO US?"

"I speak to you with the offer of an alliance."

The reaper avatar slammed its fist against the glass. "YOU DARE MOCK US? YOU, THE ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR BRINGING THE ARTICIAN BACK TO LIFE. RESPONSIBLE FOR DESTROYING OUR PROTHEAN SERVANTS."

"As you said, we tried fighting back. We didn't know what we were up against. An organic specie's very nature, we resist and fight against the unknown. We fought back when we thought you to be a threat that could be destroyed. We know better. I know that your arrival and victory is inevitable. What I can do is provide those who are willing to join you, a future." Illusive Man lied his way through his response. He needed time to find out how to destroy the reapers once and for all. Working with them was the best way to gain valuable Intel on them. Find their weakness and then exploit it. Many will die, but it is for the greater good of humanity. They will survive. At any cost. "You know of our organization and what we are capable of. I know you require servants to do what you things you cannot do in your current form. The collectors proved that. And for all intents and purposes, we have done more for you than your prothean servants have ever done."

"EXPLAIN."

"We both know what Shepard is. And I know you show... concern over their race and their technological superiority. Though things have changed with their race as of late. We made contact with them close around thirty years ago. During this exchange, we stole as much technology as we could from them. Though at one point, some of our scientists unintentionally introduced a glitch into their medical nanobot system. This created a plague that devastated their galaxy. In my last talk with Shepard, I learned that the plague completely wiped out the artician race. The largest obstacle in your way has been for all intents and purposes have been destroyed. We want to ensure that we continue to exist. And I think removing your greatest enemy would prove my organization's worth to be your servants."

The avatar just stared at the Illusive Man with no emotion. The light from its eyes disappeared. Suddenly it was like the man's spirit came back into his body. He was engulfed with fear. Tyler saw the Illusive Man and started slamming his fist against the glass.

"Hey!" he yelled. "Hey! Get it out of my head! Oh, god! I didn't agree to this! What did you do to me?"

The Illusive Man just watched uncaringly as the man screamed at him.

"For the love of god, just kill me! Kill me!" Tyler grabbed his head as the pain overwhelmed him. "Aaaaaah! The pain. My mind. I-I can't think. I- Oh, god! It's coming back. Kill me! Kill me! Kill-" Tyler was cut off as his eyes glowed again. "WE ACCEPT YOUR OFFER OF SERVITUDE. YOU WILL HEAR FROM US." Tyler's eyes stopped glowing. He no longer was in panic. Tyler was just in a state of shock. He looked to the Illusive Man and then to the ceiling. "Carla," he muttered in a whispered tone. "I'm coming." Suddenly his body erupted and fractured into cracks of light. Tyler screamed as his body was overcharged with energy before disintegrating into ashes.

TIM turned and exited the room. When he walked through the doorway he said to the two guards, "You both are no longer needed at this post."

"You sure, sir?" one of them asked.

"Yes."

The two soldiers left to patrol the station while the Illusive Man returned to his chamber. Almost immediately after sitting in his chair, several alerts popped up. TIM opened the first alert to find that it was notifying a package that was sent. TIM opened the digital package and it opened up to reveal schematics for everything from weapons to armour. TIM smirked. He tapped on a holographic panel next to his chair.

"Yes, sir," he assistant answered at the other end.

"Notify our contacts that we are to resume recruitment. We will require large numbers of recruits. Tell them to recruit mostly in the Terminus System. Many colonists have lost friends and family due to the collector attacks. Many will be willing to fight for a stronger human future that isn't linked to the Alliance."

"Right away, sir."

VVVVVV

The shuttle entered through the atmosphere of Hagalaz. Within the shuttle were Ashley, Vega, Garrus, Tali and Shepard. The raging storm shook the craft. Shepard was in a particularly good mood. The Council just recently made a broadcast to the entire galaxy about the current war. This broadcast was part of the conditions the Order placed on the Council. The Council was required to not only admit to the galaxy that the reapers exist and are here, but that Shepard isn't crazy. That he was fought to protect the galaxy while they ignored his warnings. That he fought to break Cerberus apart from the inside. They even shoulder the responsibility of the deaths of the Bahak system that were sacrificed because they failed to act upon his many warnings.

The broadcast was not meant to stroke Shepard's ego, though he did get some satisfaction from seeing the Council eat crow. This was meant to educate the public about the reaper threat and to cleanse the negative news feed that was broadcast across the galaxy that painted Shepard as a traitor, madman and mass murderer. If this galaxy is to unite they cannot see the man trying to unite it as the enemy. This public apology was the least they could do.

"Shepard," Ash said to break Shepard from his thoughts.

"Yes, Ash?" he asked while focusing on her.

"Shouldn't we be going around the galaxy to unite it instead of going to some random planet I've never heard of before?"

"She's right," Vega said. "I'm itching to taking the fight to the reapers. After seeing what they did to earth..."

"The first step in our journey starts here," Shepard answered. He pointed out the window of the shuttle.

Both Ashley and Vega looked out and saw a massive ship flying through the storm.

"Look at that thing!" Ashley gasped.

"Hell of a ship to ride through a storm like this," Vega muttered. "What's in there?"

"The Shadow Broker," Garrus answered.

The two Alliance soldiers looked to Shepard dumbfounded.

"The Shadow Broker?" Ashley repeated. "THE Shadow Broker."

Shepard nodded.

"How the hell do you know the Shadow Broker?"

"It's a very long story," Shepard replied.

"Who or what is he really?" Ashley asked.

A smile came to Shepard's and Tali's face. If turians had lips, Garrus would too. "It's best you meant with the Broker," Garrus chuckled.

"It's a surprise," Tali added.

Ashley didn't like how cryptic the three were being about the Shadow Broker. She thought of many possible reasons for this. Could the Broker be a parallel universe alien? She struck the thought from her head as the Broker has been around a lot longer than Shepard. The only possible explanation is that Shepard created an alliance between his people and the Broker. But who is he?

The shuttle entered the hangar bay. Shepard, Tali and Garrus got out first with Ashley and Vega behind them. They walked down the corridors of the ship towards a destination only Shepard, Garrus and Tali knew. Ash was impressed with this ship that you can't feel or hear the storm from outside. Ash and Vega followed Shepard quietly until they reach a door with a reception desk near it. There a soldier dressed in armour saw them and nodded to them. He pushed a button which opened the door of the room.

They went through. The room was dimly lit in a blue hue. Ashley and Vegas saw six pillars spread even in a circle around the center of the room. They surrounded a dome that came out from the ceiling. The dome was filled with white light that was a mix of energy and what only she could describe as holographic information. Ash's focus went back to the area before her. Across from their group was a large desk with a giant holographic console behind it. A person shrouded in shadows faced the large console. The person reached up and opened a command on the console. The shadowy figure then spoke through the section that was opened.

"I WANT AN INCREASE OF SURVEILLANCE OF EARTH IMMEDIATELY." The Broker's voice was deep, loud and intimidating.

Ashley and Vega were slightly surprised though. They were expecting the Broker to be... bigger. The person in the shadows was no more taller than a human.

"It's good to see you again, Shadow Broker," Shepard announced.

The person in the shadows pivoted to face them. Ashley took a breath and the person in question walked towards the large desk. Ashley's eyes widen when the Broker entered the light.

"T'Soni!" she gasped loudly. "You're the Shadow Broker? How the-"

"Close to half a year ago Shepard assisted me in getting a friend of mine back who was taken by the Shadow Broker. We ended up killing the Broker in the process." Liara walked around the "And since no one has ever seen the Broker..." She approached them. "I took over so the Broker's resources and Intel would be ours." Liara looked to Shepard. "Shepard I did everything I could to make the trial go in your favour but there was only so much I could do."

"I know you did, Liara," Shepard said.

"I must say, I am quite surprised that Williams is here. After what she said on Horizon..."

"I'm still kicking myself over that incident," Ashley said. "I'm now with Shepard 100%."

Liara saw the other human with them. "Who is this? I don't believe we met."

"Vega," he replied. "I'm a recent addition to the crew."

"Oh, well it is a pleasure to meet you as well." Liara leaned against her desk. "You're here to see if we have anything new about the Reapers or the ruins?"

"Have you had any success with the ruins?" Garrus asked.

Liara shook her head. "The language itself is very tricky. Even with the exions' help."

"So she knows," Ash asked for clarification.

"I do. See Ash, we found ruins on Tuchanka that are artician in origins. The ruins had writings that were coded. We have spent months trying to translate it. We've had little success."

"Is there anything you can offer in terms of help?" Tali asked.

"There is."

Almost on cue, the doors in the back opened. A green and orange drell walked through. "Good to see you drop by, Commander."

"You look better, Feron."

"Thanks."

"I'm guessing he's the friend you mentioned?" Ashley asked.

"Yes. Shepard, Feron here has agreed to take over operations here. With the reapers here, you'll need all the help you can get."

"Are you saying-?" Shepard trailed off.

"I'm rejoining the Normandy. Feron will take over here and help us by providing us with leads that may interest us."

"Why the change of heart?"

Liara walked up to Shepard. "I feel like I can accomplish more if I'm on the ground with you. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy this information work, but I want to be more involved. With Feron taking take of things here, I can do that."

"Welcome back, Liara." Shepard held out his hand for a shake, but Liara just moved in and hugged him. The hug lasted for a few seconds before she let him go.

"Now the question is where do we go from here," Shepard stated.

"The best idea I can think of is going back to the temple where you discovered these carvings," Liara suggested. "If there's anywhere we can find any clues is there."

"Makes sense," Tali concurred. "And I'm sure Wrex will like to see us again."

"Then we go to Tuchanka first," Shepard concluded. "Hopefully we can find more answers in the ruins."

Feron walked up to the group. "I'll keep you informed of anything I come across."

"Thank you, Feron. Alright, everyone. Let's move out."

VVVVVV

One month ago...

The Illusive Man walked into the med-bay. The doctor was at his desk finishing a report when TIM entered. He immediately got to his feet.

"Sir," he greeted.

"Was the operation a success?" TIM asked plainly.

"We were able to give him all of the enhancements that you asked us to implant him with."

"Any complications?"

"No, sir. The implants have successfully synchronized with his system. No signs of rejection."

The Illusive Man leaned against the counter to the side and asked, "What are the results of the implants?"

"Until the subject wakes up we will not know the full extent of his enhancements, but I can give you a list of likely improvements."

TIM nodded for the man to give the list.

"The subject will have accelerated healing. Roughly equal to a krogan. His strength will be unparalleled, as well as his speed. The operative's reaction time will be improved exponentially. He may need time to adjust to this difference. He should not be sent on any assignment for at least a month."

"I'll see to it that he is not sent on a mission until then. When will he wake?"

"Considering the anaesthesia meds I've used and his increase metabolism, I would say he is likely wake up at any time."

"You are dismissed, doctor. I'll wait here until he wakes up."

"Very well, Illusive Man." The doctor promptly left the recovering room, leaving TIM and the sedated operative.

TIM walked over to the bed where the Cerberus operative, and true volunteer for the implants, laid sleeping. The man lying on the bed had long black hair that covered the pillow his head laid on. He had onyx-coloured plates that covered various parts of his body. Most notably were the plates one his forearms, biceps, pectoral muscles, and one that covered his lower jaw. The man's eyes were covered by special optical sensors. The optic sensors were inside the onyx plate that covered his eyes. In each plate was a thin blue slits of light. The lights were dimmed, denoting the man's eyes were "closed." His hands were encased with synthetic material. The tips of his fingers were gold and clawed.

As TIM approached the man, the patient started shifting in his bed. The lights of his eyes started blinking slowly. The rhythm of blinking increased rapidly until the lights stayed on. The man grumbled as he regained consciousness. HE tried to sit up, but TIM placed a hand on his chest stopping him.

"Easy there, Leng. Your operation was not long ago. You need to recover."

The man's name was Kai Leng. He was Cerberus' top operative and wet work soldier. Leng was once an N7 Alliance marine but was arrested after killing a krogan, in a bar fight, with a knife. He was later freed from prison thanks to Cerberus, an organization he immediately joined, agreeing with their ideals and goals. Kai Leng was involved in many clean up operations and even crossed paths with Admiral Anderson.

"I've slept long enough," he said in his icy tone.

"I'm making it an order that you rest until we know you can handle your enhancements. You are the first human to go through this implantation. Nothing we have done before now can compare to what we have done for you. Results can be unpredictable."

"Very well, sir."

"That's good to hear. This won't be for long. I already have an assignment for you to begin once you've fully recovered."

"What's the assignment?"

"For Cerberus to take control of this galaxy once the reapers get here, you need to eliminate one man."

Leng laughed. "One man? Not exactly much of an obstacle. Why not sent operatives after him after him now?"

"Several reasons. One, he has disappeared off of the grid, and if we are correct about where he is, we cannot reach him. And two, this is not an ordinary man. The man I need you to eliminate is Commander Shepard."

"Shepard?" he said in surprise. "That poor excuse for a human?"

"He isn't human."

Kai Leng turned slightly in bed to face the Illusive Man. With his eyes covered, it was hard to tell what he was feeling. He seemed too... robotic.

"I guess that deserves some explanation. What I'm about to tell you is something only a few Cerberus operatives know. Around thirty years ago we discovered a rift in space that led to another galaxy. Another universe. This galaxy contained a wide variety of different species. The strongest being the articians. By some manner of chance, they happen to look exactly like humans. Shepard is part of this race."

"Why are they here?" Kai demanded. He almost sat up, but TIM kept him down.

"As I was getting to... We developed a relationship with this galactic government, but they heavily restricted what technology we could examine. At the rate they were allowing us access technology, it would have taken decades before we could become an unmatched power in our galaxy. So I ordered our operatives to start stealing their technology. The articians were not happy about this. Our operatives barely made it out of that galaxy, but not before they crippled their military. We were preparing for their retaliation for quite some time. With assistance of the reapers, we will not only repel the artician forces, but take control of this galaxy. With human at the helm."

"I'll do whatever I can to ensure our future, sir."

"I know you will. The implants you were given give you as much of an advantage against an artician. Making you resistant against dark and alpha energy."

"Alpha energy?"

"It is a form of energy that has existed since the beginning of time. Articians are able to manipulate it. It makes them stronger and faster. It can also act as a short-range energy attack. It doesn't have the range of dark energy, but still powerful nonetheless. Now for taking on Shepard, if you cannot take him on directly, then you must go after his quarian crew member, Tali'Zorah."

"Why her?"

"Articians actually have a very large weakness. For humans when we use the phrase soul mate, we use it in a figurative sense. Articians on the other hand are much more literal. For articians, they form a bond with the person they love. In this case, Shepard has formed a bond with Tali'Zorah. Kill her and you'll kill Shepard."

Kai contemplated the thought. "I didn't know until a year ago that before I was arrested for killing that reptile in that bar, I was a candidate for becoming the first human Spectre. I was higher on the list than Shepard. Alliance Command wanted me, but Hackett, Udina and Anderson preferred Shepard. Their favourite. That position was stolen from me. And now to find out he's not even human makes it all worse. When I kill Shepard, it will be direct. I want to prove once and for all I am the better man."

"I'll leave the mission to your discretion. But remember that you always have that option. One other thing. The weapon that Shepard prefers to use the most is a swordstaff that he calls Asha Bel. You'll need something of your own to take him on in combat." Illusive Man placed out a katana in its sheath on the table next to Kai. The hilt was black with a dark yellow end. It was rectangular in shape. The blade of the uchigatana was around three feet long. "This sword will be standard issued amongst our assassins, as they are all ordered to kill Shepard if they find him. Each sword uses the strongest metals in the galaxy and is made using a multiple-layered technique making it extremely resilient."

Kai picked up the sword by the hilt. He held it over himself. Kai pulled out the blade and said, "I will impale this blade through Shepard's heart."

VVVVVV

"Commander, you have an incoming message from Wrex," EDI notified Shepard as he walked through the CIC.

"I'll take it in the comm. room," Shepard answered.

Shepard quickened his pace towards the comm. room. He entered inside and approached the table. "Open the link."

Wrex's hologram of his face appeared before him.

"I was about to call you, Wrex."

"Too bad this conversation will not be a pleasant one. Tuchanka is under attack."

"The reapers?"

Wrex nodded. "My guess is around half a dozen. The reaper ships destroyed the CDEM fleet that orbited our planet, and without a fleet of our own, the reapers landed with little resistance."

"What is their current attack pattern?"

"They've attack a few clan centres, but they have mostly stayed close to the artician temple. We can't get near the place without having those things fire on us."

"So the reapers know about the temple. That's disturbing news. The Normandy is on its way to Tuchanka. I'll call in some reinforcements."

"We're doing all we can to hold off their forces. You need to get here fast."


	43. Signs of Hope

Chapter 41: Signs of Hope

It wasn't long before the Normandy was joined by the other Guardian ships on its course to Tuchanka. The ships that joined consisted of one cruiser-class ship and five frigate-class ships. The ships entered the Krogan DMZ and flew towards the red planet called Tuchanka.

"I have large energy readings on the planet, Commander," the captain of the cruiser said over the ship's comm.

"Can you get a fix where it is coming from?" Shepard asked.

"We can't seem to pinpoint it but it is coming from the general area where you found that temple."

"Then it is possible that they have activated something there?"

"It's hard to tell. But whatever it is, we must act fast."

"I want the area scouted. Check to see our opposition and to see what they are doing."

"I'll send two of our frigates to investigate."

"Tell them they are to investigate, not to engage. They stay in stealth mode. I don't want to fight the reaper forces on Tuchanka until we get a good reading on them."

"Right away, Commander. What about the rest of the ships?"

"Stay in orbit, until we get an update on the ground."

"Yes, sir."

Shepard leaned slightly on Joker's chair and said, "Take us in, Joker."

"Aye, aye, Commander."

VVVVVV

The two scout frigates cloaked themselves and flew towards the location on the temple. In the area they could see three reapers around the ruins. The tia'zu captain of the one frigate made a call to the Normandy.

"Commander, this is Captain Ferot. We have visual confirmation of the temple site."

"And what do you see?" Shepard asked.

The captain took another look. The reaper ships and their ground forces removed much of the ground and debris revealing the temple. A structure was visible that jutted out of the ground. It glowed with green energy. Without the debris and ground in the way it stood at around one hundred feet in the air. The smooth material of the tower was very dark purple. There were carvings within the unknown material. The green energy surged upwards from the base of the tower all the way to the tip. The rest of the temple was revealed more fully. The building next to the tower was roughly a quarter of a kilometre in length, around 50 metres in width and just one story tall. The building was the same colour as the tower, though it did not glow like it did. "They've dug up the temple. And it appears to be active."

"What is it doing at the moment?"

"The tower of the temple is surging with energy. The reapers guarding it have shown no attempts to do anything else to the building. The area though is swarming with various husks."

"Will an air strike be a viable option?"

"Negative. I would suggest distracting the reapers. Try to draw them away from the temple. WE cannot risk hitting it."

"A ground attack to draw the reapers away from the temple and then finishing them off with an air strike sounds like a reasonable strategy."

"Yes, sir. We'll fall back to your-" The captain stopped speaking suddenly.

"Something wrong?"

A pulse of red energy surged from one of the reapers. The red energy hit the frigates causing the cloaking field to ripple and distort. Electricity surged around each vessel, then the cloaking field dropped revealing the two frigates.

"The reapers have just released an energy field that dropped our cloak!"

The reaper that unleashed the energy field lifted one of its appendages and charged up an energy beam.

"Taking evasive manoeuvres!"

The two frigates rapidly changed course in the opposite direction as fast as they could. The reaper fired its weapon. The beam connected with the other frigate. The ship's left thrusters blew up causing it to spin out of control. The frigate spun until it crash landed in the distance.

"The Ogo was just hit! It crash landed."

"Can you see if there are any survivors?" Shepard asked.

"Yes. It's just out of the reapers' range."

"Sweep for survivors and then fall back to Urdnot."

"Yes, sir."

VVVVVV

Shepard slammed a fist against the railing next to his computer terminal in the CIC. Ashley was nearby and saw him act out.

"What happened, Skipper?"

"We lost one of our frigates. The reapers are somehow able to release an energy wave that deactivates the fleet's cloaking capabilities."

"Any idea about casualties?"

"The other frigate is investigating the wreckage. We may find someone. For now we need to meet with Wrex. We have to organize a counter-strike against the reapers here and take back that temple."

VVVVVV

The shuttle flew in towards the Urdnot camp through the same dome they entered through before. The shuttle landed and opened allowing Shepard's entire ground team to hop out. Grunt scanned the area. Many of the krogan were checking their weapons, just preparing for a fight.

"I can smell it in the air," Grunt said. "Blood rage is building."

"We need to put it to use," Shepard said. "We'll speak with Wrex and figure out our next step."

The team followed Shepard down through the dank tunnel to the center of Urdnot. The area itself looked as it did the last time they visited. The krogan on the other hand were moving all over the place. Each of them wearing battle armour. At the head of the area, Wrex sat on his stone throne. Half a dozen krogan stood in a semi-circle around Wrex. Shepard and his group made their approach to Wrex. The two clan guards stepped in their path.

"Hold it," the guard commanded. "The clan leader is in a meeting with the other clan leaders. No admittance for aliens."

"Let them through!" Wrex ordered.

The two guards stepped out of the way. Shepard and his team walked up to the group of krogan leaders.

"What is the meaning of this, Wrex!" the clan leader of Nakmor roared.

"I'm here to fight with your people to repeal the reapers."

"Leave human, this is a krogan fight."

"Show some respect for my battlemaster," Grunt jumped in.

"Your choice of battlemaster really shows how weak you are. A human who selects a quarian for his mate. Pathetic."

Wrex slammed his fist into the arm rests of his throne and stood up. "I suggest you hold your tongue. Shepard has killed far better krogan." Wrex glanced at Shepard. "I'm guessing you brought in the Guardian ships."

"The reapers took down one of our frigates, but we should still be able to mount a counter attack with your help," Shepard explained.

"This is our world, Wrex," the clan leader of Drau said. "You may have the largest clan, but we can't allow alien meddling in our affairs."

"You don't seem to understand what exactly we face, Drau," Wrex muttered. "Just one of this reapers was able to destroy the turian fleet around the Citadel a few years ago. We now have half a dozen here without a fleet of our own. Without Shepard's help..." Wrex reached for something next to his throne. He tossed the object to the ground in front of the clan leaders. "This is the fate that awaits us all." The object was the head of a cannibal husk.

The clan leaders still looked hesitant.

Shepard took a step forward. "I understand that you want to ignore my offer of help. This is your world. And what have aliens done for your race for the last hundreds of years? Sterilization. Since the rebellions, this galaxy neutered your kind and ignored you as no more than an annoyance. They ignore the hardships. They ignore the children that have never lived. But no more. The truth of the matter is this. I am not a human. I am an artician. An alien from another reality. We look similar to humans, but biologically, we are vastly different. I am the last of my race, but not of the aliens from my galaxy. There are many in my universe who have united under a common banner. Under my command. We have learned the history of this galaxy and are disgusted by the current fate of your people. That's why we offer you this. A second chance at life. A cure for the affliction your people bare. The scientists of my galaxy's government are close to curing the genophage. But for the krogan to benefit from this cure, the reaper threat must be eliminated or they will wipe out all life in this galaxy. This will be a war unlike any other. One that will take every race in two galaxy's fighting together. Bleeding together. Even dying together if it means an end to the reapers once and for all. So I ask you: Will you fight?"

The clan leaders were surprised by Shepard's assertion. They looked to each other wondering what the others thought of the... artician. Only the clan leader of Jorgal was calm. The krogan was easily around a thousand years old. Aged by time and the many battles he has fought throughout his life. His clan is one of the longest bloodlines and thus had much respect from the other clans. He was quiet when the krogans objected to Shepard's offer of assistance. He huffed and then let out a loud laugh. This caught everyone's attention.

"This... artician," he said. "While he may look like a human. He speaks and fights like a krogan. And he's willing to fight and die by our side to help free our planet from the reapers who have attacked. That's enough for me. What say you, krogan? Do you wish to die out and become forgotten? Or do you want to regain your honour?"

"Are there anymore arguments against accepting Shepard's assistance?" Wrex asked the congregation.

None of the krogan dared oppose both the clan leaders of Urdnot and Jorgal.

"Very well." Wrex went back to sitting down on his throne. "We need to destroy the reapers that have invaded our home before we can fight in this war."

"I need to get the fleet here organized," Shepard said. "We need to draw the reapers away from the temple. We can't simply just shoot at the reapers as the temple needs to remain unharmed as it is key to figuring out how to defeat the reapers. One of the reapers managed to shoot down one of my ships and another was sent to the crash site. I'll call them up now and get a status update on their recovery efforts." Shepard pulled out his omni-tool and opened a comm. channel. "Captain Ferot, this is Shepard. What is the status of recovery of survivors?"

There was silence on the other end.

"Captain Ferot, do you read me?"

Again just silence.

Shepard cursed under his breath in words no one there understood. "Before any retaliation can begin I have to find out what happened to those two ships."

"Then go," Wrex said. "Once you find out head back here and then we can formulate a plan to deal with the reapers."

VVVVVV

The Normandy dropped the hammerhead tank over the crash site. When Cerberus put the tank together, they sacrificed armour to allow agility. The Guardians were not restricted by this limitation. The tank was outright replaced with the same model but all of the metal was replaced with a specialized polymer that was stronger than any metal in the galaxy while not sacrificing the original agility. And just like the old mako, a shield generator was added to additional security.

The hammerhead landed with a whirling sound as the hover jets increased in output to slow their landing. Before the tank were the two frigates. One frigate was half destroyed while the other was completely unharmed. Shepard's entire team came out of the tank.

"Doesn't make sense," Vega said. "The other ship looks completely unharmed."

"Might be possible that the reapers were blocking communication," Liara suggested.

"Makes sense," Ashley concurred. "Sovereign did the same thing on Eden Prime."

"We split into two teams," Shepard ordered. "Garrus, Tali and Grunt with me. We'll check the unharmed ship. Ashley you lead team two with Liara, Jack and Vega. Check out the crashed ship. I want everyone on their guard."

"Yes, sir," Ashley answered.

VVVVVV

The interior of the ship seemed mostly intact. Shepard's team cautiously advanced down the corridors.

"The air doesn't smell right," Grunt noted. "There's blood."

"What the hell happened here?" Garrus asked out loud.

"I'm not liking this at all, John," Tali added.

"Williams, do you have anything yet?" Shepard asked over the comm.

VVVVVV

Ashley's team moved around the various fires inside the ship. They passed by an occasional dead and charred body. "We haven't found any survivors yet. Just the dead."

"Lots of them," Jack added.

"This ship has seen better days," Vega said.

"We shouldn't go too much further," Liara cautioned. "These fires may block off our way out if we stay here too long."

"I agree with T'Soni here," Ashley said. "We'll check a little farther ahead and then we're turning back."

VVVVVV

"Got it," Shepard replied as his group approached the bridge.

The doors opened up. The bridge was empty. The lights were out so Tali turned the flashlight of his omni-tool on. She slowly scanned the area.

Shepard noticed some movement on the other side of the room. "Wait," Shepard said to Tali. "Go back a little."

Tali's light went over what Shepard saw. It was large and was crouched, just barely visible. It moved slightly though, as if it was focused on something.

"Williams, I think we might have found a survivor," Shepard said.

VVVVVV

"Certainly doing better than us," Ashley replied. "Mostly just dead bodies here."

Ashley then heard some scuttling. "Hold it. I think I heard something."

"Might be a survivor," Vega said.

The corridor they were in had less than a handful of fires. In the distance of the corridor the squad saw something run across the corridor. It was too dark to see it clearly.

"I think we might have found a survivor of our own," Ashley said back to Shepard.

VVVVVV

"Proceed with extreme caution," Shepard ordered. He slowly approached the large person at the back of the room. "Soldier," he called to him. "Soldier. It's me, Commander Shepard."

The creature stopped moving. It then slowly got up to its feet. Shepard backed away a bit. With it more in sight, Shepard noticed it had some glowing blue lights in its body. The creature fully stood up and turned around.

"Oh, Keelah," Tali gasped.

The creature was giant husk. It had the body of a krogan, but the head of a turian. The head itself reminded Shepard of what Saren transformed into during their final encounter. The creature's right arm was like a crab's pincer with what appeared to be a cannon lens inside the three pincers. This... Brute had two rows of curved spines and a row of straight spines in the middle that ran from the top of its shoulder to halfway down its spine. The brute held something in its other hand.

VVVVVV

Ashley's team rounded the corner where the possible survivor went. The team froze in their tracks when they saw what was there. There was at least a dozen rachni, but each of them were turned into husk monstrosities. Their interior organs were exposed on the front side. Their tentacles were removed and in their place were two cannons. Each placed on both sides of the head. They all emitted a high-pitch scream signalling their attack.

"Fall back!" Ashley ordered.

The squad ran as the rachni husks ran after them.

"Commander, we have husks! Rachni husks!"

"Evacuate the ship!" Shepard ordered.

Ashley primed a grenade and tossed it behind herself. The rachni following the came by the grenade. The grenade went off killing three of the rachni.

Jack turned around to let off a biotic shockwave. The shockwave knocked the rachni to the ground allowing Jack to smirk. That smirk quickly vanished as the rachni got back up again.

"You've got to be shitting me," she groaned.

Vega then spun around and got off a shot with his sniper rifle. He managed to hit a sac on one of the rachni's side. The sac exploded releasing smaller rachni that moved even faster that the bigger versions. He shot one of the smaller bugs causing it to explode, killing the other smaller bugs.

"The smaller ones are explosive!" Vega yelled. He turned and continued running with the other squad mates.

VVVVVV

In the brute's hand was a struggling rachni. It squealed as tubes from the husk's arm stabbed their way into its body. Shepard and his team watched as the rachni transformed before their eyes. Its tentacles fell off. Masses emerged all over its body that formed into several sacs and two cannons. Every bit of organic matter was replaced his machinery as the nanites that the brute injected into the rachni took it over. The rachni crew member stopped screaming as it was fully taken over.

The brute then placed the rachni on the ground. The rachni flopped onto the ground as the nanites finished their transformation. It then looked at Shepard and roared. Its roar was deep and loud, shaking the room they were in. The monstrosity raised its claw arm and started charging up its cannon. An explosion impacted its arm knocking it to the side. The cannon fired off and destroyed a section of wall.

Shepard and his squad looked in the direction of where the explosive projectile came from. It was Captain Ferot, the rasitian. He looked cut up and battered. Ferot looked to Shepard and yelled, "Get out of here now!"

The brute turned its attention to Ferot. It grabbed him with its clawed hand and held him up. "Go to hell," he grunted before the brute closed its pincer cutting the ship's captain in half.

"Commander, we have husks!" Ashley yelled over the comm. "Rachni husks!"

"Evacuate the ship!" Shepard ordered to both his squad and Ashley's.

The brute gave a guttural roar that vibrated the room with it stretched its arms outwards. It then charged forward. Shepard and his squad ran back through the doorway they entered through. The brute chased after them, but was stopped by the doorway that was too small for its frame. It reached outwards with its claw arm to try and grab one of the squad mates. Garrus could feel the air pressure of the pincers slamming shut.

As they ran to the entrance they came in through, Shepard activated his omni-tool and called out, "Shepard to fleet! I need an air strike at my position! Both ships have been compromised, overrun with husks. We cannot allow the reapers to examine this technology."

"Commander, Joker here. I'm on my way."

"ETA ten minutes," EDI added.

"I would suggest getting a good distance away from the two ships before the fireworks begin."

"Got it," Shepard said back.

The squad made it out of the ship. Across from them they could see Ashley's squad getting out. Her squad mates were at intervals turning to fire backwards. Shepard then saw what they were firing at. At least a dozen rachni husks emerged from the burning ship. The two squads regrouped.

"We have ten minutes to get out of here before Joker's airstrike comes in," Shepard told Ashley.

"Then we better get in the hammerhead and get the hell out of here."

A squeal came from the rocky cropping around where the tank was parked. Rachni husks appeared over the ridge with their cannons aiming at them.

"Everyone take cover!" Shepard ordered.

Everyone took cover behind any rock or scrap metal they could find before the rachni on both side started firing on their position. Garrus popped out of cover and fired a round from his sniper rifle right through the cannon on one of the rachni. The cannon exploded taking the rachni with it.

"That's one for me!" Garrus called out.

"Are we really playing this game now?" Shepard asked.

"Up to you."

Shepard fired two shots in rapid succession from his pistol. Each shot went through a cannon on two rachni. "That's two for me."

Grunt fired his claymore shotgun three times tearing several of the rachni to pieces. He ducked down to dodge the return fire from the rachni husks. He looked at Shepard and Garrus with a grin. "Three."

"Can we focus on eliminating them!" Tali yelled as she summoned her combat drone. "Considering that this area is going to be set ablaze in six minutes!"

"I have to agree with Tali here," Ashley said while throwing a grenade. The explosion caused the sacs on two rachni to burst open. Small rachni came forth.

"Besides, I have six kills to my shotgun and Chiktikka."

"Oh, goddess!" Liara groaned. "I'm surrounded by children!"

Vega hurried to fire his AR to destroy the hatchlings. "Just a handful left."

Jack used a pull field to bring the remaining rachni into the air. Liara threw a warp to cause the biotic energy to detonate and destroy the remaining husks.

"Let's get the fuck outta here before anymore show up," Jack said.

A familiar roar came from the intact Guardian ship. The airlock blew apart and the metal doors flew in different directions. The brute shoved its way through the doorway bending the metal allowing its large frame through.

"What the hell is that thing?" Ashley yelled. "It looks like Saren on steroids."

"No time to worry about what it is," Liara said in a rapid pace. "We need to take it down."

"Everyone open fire!" Shepard ordered.

The squad returned fire on the brute. The giant husk used its arms to block many of the rounds which just impacted him harmlessly. The cannon in its pincer arm started charging up.

"Take cover!"

The brute fired hitting their cover. The particle cannon started melting away at the cover they hid behind. Ashley prepped a grenade and lobbed it over their cover. The grenade landed at the brute's feet. It blew up knocking the brute back a couple steps.

"Again!"

The squad popped back out of cover again to return fire. Shepard noticed that the rounds that hit the brute's stomach were cracking its armour.

"Focus fire on its stomach!"

The squad followed orders without a second thought. The armour on its stomach started chipping away. The armour quickly deteriorated revealing blue internal organs. The organs partially split out and swung freely. The brute covered its stomach with its left arm. It slowly advanced as it charged its particle cannon. The particle beam was focused on Shepard's cover this time.

"Garrus use a concussion shot to knock its beam aside!"

"Got it, Commander," Garrus said as his came out of cover and fired a concussion shot. The shot violently shoved the particle cannon out of the way.

"Ashley, Vega, when I give the signal both of you throw grenades at the exposed spot."

They both nodded. Shepard popped out of cover and created a singularity right in front of the brute. "Time to take you down!" Shepard followed up with a warp that exploded the singularity pushing the brute back and moving its arms out of the way.

"Now!"

Ashley and Vega jumped out of cover and threw their grenades. One grenade landed at the brute's feet. The other grenade landed right into the massing of organs. The grenades went off. The grenade in the stomach lit its insides on fire at blew it to pieces while the grenade below propelled the pieces upwards in a geyser of blue blood.

"Everyone, get into the hammerhead!" Shepard ordered.

They ran inside the tank. Shepard slammed the acceleration as hard as he could. The tank flew out of the area at top speed.

"Must go faster!" Liara said.

"I'm trying!" Shepard scolded.

The tank swerved between rock and ruins to get outside of the blast radius that the two ships would result in.

The sound of humming filled the area. In the distance the Normandy flew towards the two dead ships. From the intact vessel, around fifty rachni husks emerged into the light. Two projectiles came from the ship. Each shot impacted each ship. Explosions erupted from the vessels that multiplied until each vessel was engulfed in flames. The explosions engulfed the rachni husks incinerating them immediately. The explosions around the ships finally consolidated into a massive explosion that shot upwards. The ground trembled from the two massive explosions. The shockwave spread outwards obliterating everything in its path. The shockwave was bright blue and filled with electricity.

Shepard could see the shockwave behind them with the tank's rear camera.

"We're not going to make it at this rate," Vega said in distress.

"We'll make it," Shepard assured him.

Ahead Shepard could see a canyon. He steered the tank towards it. The tank was starting to shake as the shockwave approached them. The hammerhead went downwards into the canyon. Shepard stabilized the tank with its thrusters as it went downwards. The canyon was roughly half a kilometre in depth. On the camera that monitored above the tank, the squad could see the shockwave go over the canyon top. Dust and dirt flew downwards after being shoved by the shockwave.

The squad breathed a heavy sigh of relief. The tank slowed its descent before landing softly on the canyon bottom. The dirt and dust landed on the ground covering the tank.

Shepard looked back to his team with a smile and said, "See. We made it."

VVVVVV

Back at Urdnot, krogan warriors were making preparations for the battle they would all charge into. Though even in during their busy activities they could hear a tank approach. A dozen warriors took positions as they had not expected anyone else to show up. Wrex joined them to see who was coming. He saw the tank in question as it entered through their parameter.

"It's Shepard," he called out. "Everyone back to preparations."

The group of krogan left their post at the entrance and back to gathering armour, weapons and heat sinks. Wrex stood at the entrance and watched as the tank flew in. The tank entered the garage and came to a complete stop. The rear hatch opened up and Shepard's team exited.

"I assume that massive explosion was your doing?" Wrex stated.

"Indeed," Shepard replied.

"Of course. Follow me. We need to map out a strategy."

Shepard followed behind Wrex to a large table that gave a holographic layout of the reapers' foothold. Around the table were the clan leaders. Shepard's team stayed back while Shepard and Wrex approach the table.

"How do we deal with the reapers?" one of the clan leaders asked.

"My fleet has powerful weapons, but since the reapers have a way to disable cloaks, we can't get into range before they fire back," Shepard said. "We have to draw the reapers away from my people's temple. Once they are distracted the fleet can go in with a sneak attack and eliminate them."

"How do we get the attention of the reapers?" Korgal asked.

Shepard brought up his omni-tool and transferred some information. The hologram of an alien tank appeared before them. The tank in question was a similar design to the hammerhead but bulkier and the turret on top was at least three times the size of that of the hammerhead. "The cruiser we have has a squadron of heavy tanks. Each tank has a smaller version of the Thanix cannon that the Normandy has. This will damage the reapers with repeated shots. It will get their attention. We should split the squadron of tanks into three fronts so each front only has to deal with one reaper. Once the reapers have reached an optimal range from the temple, then my fleet can finish them off."

"Anyone object to this plan?" Wrex asked the clan leaders. No one raised objection. "Then we are off to battle." Wrex faced the area and announced, "Fellow krogan! We are going to war!"

The area roared with cheer.

"We have incoming!" one of the sentries warned.

VVVVVV

Shepard's hammerhead led the charge towards the artician temple. Around fifty tanks followed his lead. Each squadron came in different directions.

"We're almost in position," Wrex said. He sat next to Shepard with his team.

"Get ready to give the go ahead," Shepard said.

The reapers in the distance noticed the approaching tanks. They let off a mechanical roar.

"All tanks fire now!" Wrex ordered through his omni-tool.

Streaks of blue light flew towards each of the reapers. It was a beautiful sight to see over a hundred blue beams in the air. Each of the beams hit on target on each of the reapers. The reapers screamed in pain from the shots. Shepard saw that the beams did indeed cause some damage to their hull. Not enough that repeated shots would take them down, but enough to get their attention.

Just as they planned, the reapers started moving in separate directions to take on each of the fronts. The reaper that was heading in the direction of Shepard's squadron started charging up one of it appendages' cannons. The beam fired forth and destroyed five tanks in a single hit.

"All tanks fall back!" Wrex barked. "We are to draw the reapers away from the temple, not kill it. It's the fleet's job to do that. All tanks loosen up your formation. Make smaller targets to hit."

The squadron of tanks started to drift from each other so there was a lot more space between them. The tanks turned and went in the opposite direction as the reaper chased them in pursuit. The reaper pursuit them into a large valley.

"Guardian fleet, this is Commander Shepard. I am giving the go ahead for an airstrike. Three reapers. Take them down."

"Aye, aye, sir," the captain of the cruiser said. "ETA three minutes."

The reaper fired another beam taking out two more tanks from the squadron.

"They better hurry," Wrex growled. "We can't keep the reapers distracted forever."

The tanks fired back with their own attacks, but the reaper was able to tolerate the attacks. It fired again taking out another tank. Shepard then saw the reaper charge its beam weapon in his direction. He turned the tank and used a speed burst. The reaper fired at the location where his tank was barely missing. The tank squadron was having increasing difficulty in dodging the reaper's shots.

Shepard notice several things flying in the sky. At first he thought it was some harvesters, but then he realized that he was only half right. The harvesters that flew in the sky were turned into husks. Their moves glowed as they swooped in. They fired particle beams at the tanks, greatly damaging them.

"Focus fire on the harvesters!" Wrex ordered.

The tanks turned their cannons to the sky. They fired, but the harvesters were too fast for the tanks to strike them.

"The things are too damn fast," Vega observed.

"Then we need to slow them down," Shepard said as an epiphany came to him. "Liara I'll need you to use stasis on one of the harvesters when I open the top of the tank okay?"

"Yes, Shepard," she said as she positioned herself.

"Need to wait until they sweep in. Once they're close I'll open the hatch and you can freeze them."

Shepard watched his monitor as one of the harvesters prepared to come in. 'Almost. Almost.'

"Now!" he yelled while opening the hatch on his dashboard.

Liara popped out of the hole and used stasis on the harvester closest to their vehicle. The harvester froze and crashed into the ground like a statue. Two tanks ran by krogan watched the body until Liara undid the stasis she place on the creature. The harvester looked up and didn't have a chance to roar before the two tanks fired on its body.

"Nice one, blue!" Jack cheered.

"Blue?" Liara raised brow.

"Your skin... Ah, fuck you."

Liara was able to replicate her success on the remaining harvesters ridding the reapers of their air support.

The ground started shaking. The seismic monitors on the tanks was able to pick it up.

"The hell?" Vega said. "An earthquake?"

"That's no earthquake," Wrex corrected.

The ground in the center of the valley burst apart. Out of the geyser of dirt a giant thresher maw appeared. It roared at the reaper that was encroaching on its territory. The maw was the same size as the one Shepard and Grunt fought during the Rite of Passage.

"Another colossal thresher maw. This isn't a valley. It's a thresher nest."

The thresher maw grabbed the reaper and started constricting around the ship. It slammed it to the ground a few times to weaken it.

"Looks like we have an ally," Liara observed.

"It might be able to keep the reaper busy long enough for the air strike to come in," Garrus noted.

Wrex pushed a button next to the monitor. He saw everyone's glance. "I'm recording this."

The thresher maw dragged the reaper back into its burrow. The crew of each of the tanks just watched and waited for anything to happen.

Cracks appeared around the burrow hole. Red light shone through the cracks. Shortly after the ground blew upwards. The reaper that was attacked appeared again.

"Damn it," Ashley cursed.

The ground shook and the colossal thresher maw appeared again and continued its assault. The reaper aimed its leg at the maw and fired a beam right through the maw. Blood split from the wound, covering the ground in the orange blood. The maw tried slamming the reaper, but all it accomplished was pushing the reaper back a little. The reaper fired another beam that went right through the maw's head. The maw fell to the ground dead with his arms twitching a little.

The reaper returned its attention back to the squadron of tanks. It let off a loud, mighty, mechanical roar as it prepared another barrage of attacks. Before it could charge its cannon again, a projectile impacted the reaper making it fall down with a pain growl. The Normandy flew over head shooting another round to add insult to injury.

"The cavalry's arrived!" Ashley cheered.

The cruiser and two frigates, including the Normandy, appeared over the tank squadron.

"All ships," the cruiser captain said, "fire on the reaper."

Blue and green beams fired from the ships towards the reaper on the ground. The reaper gave one last rebellious roar before the beams went right through it tearing two giant holes through its body. Red electricity surged around the body as the mighty being fell to the ground with a loud thud. The red electricity around the body increased until the cracks around the reaper's body began to glow brightly.

"It's going to blow!" Tali warned.

The reaper body blew apart sending pieces of itself all over. The battle was won.

"What's the status on the other two reapers?" Wrex asked over his comm.

"Other two reapers were successfully destroyed," one of the krogan soldiers replied.

"I want this location secure. Locate any husks and take them down."

"Yes, clan chief."

VVVVVV

A majority of the tanks started their patrols around the parameter of the temple. Shepard parked his tank in front of the uncovered temple.

"So you think you'll uncover something else here?" Wrex asked.

"It's currently our only lead on how to destroy the reapers," Shepard answered. "My ancestor came here fifty thousand years ago. She must have left something."

"I'll come in with you. The clans can handle patrol."

"Then let's head in."

Shepard entered through the temple's entrance with his crew behind him. The entranceway was the location they had exploded from before, but now there was a door revealed at the back. He approached the door and placed his hand on it. Symbols on the dark purple door lit up. It shuddered as it rose. It revealed a corridor. Shepard walked down it with his crew behind him.

"Just fascinating," Liara muttered in amazement. "I could spend years in here examining this temple."

The corridor led to a large chamber that had a pyramid shape device at the center. On the front side of the pyramid face was a slot for his sword. He approached the device in question.

"Clan chief!" a voice yelled over Wrex's comm.

"I'm here," he replied.

"Those creatures are pouring out of the reapers. There are hundreds of them. We're trying to take them out. They are heading to your location!"

"Everyone take cover positions!" Shepard ordered.

There were two waist-high walls that were diagonal to the entrance to the chamber. Everyone took cover behind the walls. They waited until they could hear the tell-tale moans of an approaching husk horde. One of the basic human husks was close enough to see.

"Open fire!" Shepard yelled.

Wrex fired his shotgun blowing the husk in half. More husks came after it. Everyone firing round after round killing these abominations. They could see down the hall that this horde wasn't going to end soon. Explosives would decrease their numbers greatly, but they couldn't risk damaging the temple.

"I'm not sure how much longer we can do this," Garrus said.

"We do this or we die," Grunt chided. "We have to keep this temple out of reaper hands."

"Well said, whelp," Wrex said.

'Come to me.' A voice whispered in Shepard ear.

"Did anyone hear that?" Shepard asked out loud.

"Hear what?" Vega asked back.

"It was like a whisper."

"All I hear are moans and gunfire, Commander," Ashley said.

'Come to me,' the voice repeated. 'Wake me. Cleanse this temple.'

Shepard turned and saw that the pyramid device at the center of the room had a slight green glow to it. He got up and walked to it.

"Shepard what are you doing?" Garrus screamed.

"It's calling to me," he answered. Shepard pulled out Asha Bel as he approached the device.

The horde was increasing in size and now their line was at risk of becoming overrun.

"We could really use your help, Commander," Jack said frustrated.

Shepard slid the blade of his weapon into the key slot and turned it. A burst of green energy came forth from the device at a rapid speed. Shepard levitated into the air as it did.

"Shepard!" Tali cried out.

Ashley grabbed her shoulder. "Tali, don't! You'll get caught in it too. He'll be okay."

The energy wave didn't stop at Shepard. It went through the corridor. As the energy wave passed through the husk horde, they disintegrated. The squad watched in amazement as the husks were annihilated from this green energy.

VVVVVV

Many images passed through Shepard's mind. He saw the last survivors of the protheans. The ones responsible for the conduit. The images were in such flashes that it was hard to concentrate on what they were conveying. He then saw his ancestor coming to the Citadel and meeting the prothean survivors.

The images changed again, away from the Citadel to a temple of sorts. There were two large doors at least fifteen feet tall. On each side of the doors was a statue. Both statues were of an artician warrior holding two blades with his arms crossed over his chest. They were dressed in traditional uniform of the royal guard. This was definitely of a temple here as the vision showed one of the protheans in front of the temple doors.

Bright white light shone through the cracks of the two doors.

'Temple of light... Find it... Connect the relays...'

VVVVVV

Outside of the temple, the green energy burst forth from the tower as a giant omni-directional shockwave. Several of the krogan tried to run away from the shockwave only to find it had no effect on them. They watched as the shockwave caused the husks to disintegrate into nothingness. The energy wave went passed the reaper corpses causing them to break down until nothing was left. Once the three reaper corpses were destroyed, the energy wave retracted rapidly back into the tower it emitted from. The tower retained its eerie glow.

VVVVVV

Shepard fell to the ground and groaned from his headache. Tali ran over to him and crouched down next to him. "John! Are you okay?"

Shepard tried to sit up a little. "I'm okay, love."

Tali helped him to his feet. "You sure?"

Shepard assured her with a hug. "Just a minor headache. I'll be okay."

"What happened there, Commander?" Ashley asked. "How did that device just annihilate those husks like that?"

"The device had two functions," Shepard answered. "When I heard those whispers, the device was calling to me. It was delivering a message, or part of one. It showed me the previous Tiven'Vian meeting with the protheans who made the conduit after the reapers retreated into dark space. They built not just this temple, but several others in the galaxy."

"Goddess," Liara gasped. "So the protheans didn't die on the Citadel."

"That's interesting and all, but what about that light show," Jack interrupted. "It just toasted those husks."

"A gift from the last Tiven'Vian," Shepard answered. "This temple is one part of a relay network. An anti-reaper network."

"Then we have our weapon!" Vega said.

"We have part of one," Shepard corrected. "We have to activate an entire network of them. And not just that, there was a temple in my vision. There was a great emphasis on it."

"How does this network work exactly?" Garrus asked. "How did that energy just dissolve the husks?"

"Honestly? No idea. My sword is able to do the exact same thing though. The alpha energy interacts with them in a way that destabilizes them. All I know is that every relay in the galaxy needs to be activated in order to destroy every reaper in the galaxy. Each relay will give off a burst of energy that eliminates all reapers and reaper-tech creatures on a planet's surface as a defence mechanism in case a situation, like we were in, arise. Then the energy retracts and waits for the activation of the entire network. I'm interested in the temple the vision showed me though." Shepard looked to Liara. "Liara, can you ask Feron to do a search? Keywords: temple and light."

"Those are pretty ambiguous search terms," Liara said. "Can you narrow it down more?"

"Temple. Light. Roughly fifty thousand years old. Very late prothean period. Unknown language. Two statues at entrance."

"It may take some time, but at least that narrows it down."

The pyramid device sparked green electricity to hit Shepard's omni-tool. It caused him to jump.

"What was that?" Tali asked in surprise.

Shepard looked at his omni-tool. There was now a massive data file on his omni-tool. "The device just did a rapid transfer to my omni-tool."

"What does it contain?" Jack asked.

"A lot," Shepard answered briefly. "I'll need to look through it, but obviously this information is important. We should head back to Urdnot and from there decide what to do next."


	44. Hope for the Future

Chapter 42: Hope for the Future

The hammerhead returned back to Urdnot where the krogan were celebrating their first true victory since the rebellions. Many of them were pounding their fists and head-butting each other to express their enthusiasm. The hammerhead came to a stop inside the garage. Shepard and his squad came out of the tank to hear the cheer of the warrior people. Wrex looked more than pleased from their victory.

"Brothers!" he called out to the camp. "For the first time in over a thousand years we have won a battle for not just our existence but for this galaxy. So I say to you all, prepare yourselves! So long as the reapers exist they will not cease to be a threat to our race. So let's just show the reapers just what krogan can do. The krogan are going to war!"

The area cheered loudly again. All of the warriors waved their guns in the air. Wrex briskly move to the war table where they formulated their original strategy. Shepard and his crew followed behind.

"Getting them into this war won't be enough," Wrex said matter-of-factly to Shepard. "Many still hold grudges towards the other races. Though what you and Grunt did during the Rite of Passage has earned you two a lot of respect, but it's not enough to trust the other races."

"So we need to offer the krogan to get past these grudges," Shepard concluded.

"Yes. If we are to fight against the reapers it has to be as a unified front, not multiple forces working independent of themselves."

"I might have a solution to that..."

"Commander," Joker chirped in over the comm. "We have just received communication from Mordin."

"What a coincidence," Shepard muttered. "What about?"

"He said that he managed to cure the genophage. He needs your help to evacuate the cure."

"Evacuate?"

"The cure isn't a shot. The cure is a fertile female krogan who doesn't have the genophage."

"A fertile female who doesn't have the genophage," Wrex repeated in shock.

"Tell him that we just finished securing Tuchanka and we will head directly to his location now," Shepard told Joker.

"Yes, sir," Joker replied. "He transmitted his coordinates to our ship."

"Then we better not waste any time."

"I'm coming with you," Wrex said. "This female is the key to not just my people's future, but in ensuring cooperation between the krogan, turians and salarians. I have to be there."

"I won't deny your request, Wrex," Shepard said.

VVVVVV

There was much time for Shepard's squad to rest from their travel between Tuchanka and Sur'Kesh. The coordinates that Mordin provided was a secret facility on the salarian homeworld. It was here, where using the research that his previous assistant gathered and the resources and technology of the Order, he was able to find a cure for the affliction of the krogan. The crew prepared their weapons in the CIC for the extraction mission on Sur'Kesh. Shepard stood in front of the galaxy map waiting for their ship to come out of FTL. The planet of Sur'Kesh was roughly fifty to sixty percent of the planet's surface was cover by land. A great deal of the land was covered by lush green forests with intertwining rivers that criss-crossed all over. The planet's climate is very humid.

"Commander, I'm detecting incoming vessels," Joker said over the PA.

"Reapers?" Shepard asked.

"N-Negative," he replied. "You... Might want to come up to the cockpit and see this."

Shepard hurried to the front of the ship. "What's wrong, Joker?"

"A lot." Joker pulled up a screen on his console. "Look who's come to join us."

Shepard's eyes widen when he looked at the screen. On the screen was a Cerberus frigate.

"Why would they be here?" Shepard asked out loud. "This cure would bring peace between the krogan, salarians and turians, which would help in the war against the reapers. Unless... Shit."

"Commander?"

"It looks like we are just fighting one enemy in this war," was all Shepard said before heading back to the CIC. His crew saw the disturbed look on his face.

"What did Joker say?" Ashley asked.

"The situation has changed," Shepard answered.

"Are the reapers attacking Sur'Kesh?"

"The reapers have found new foot soldiers. And I'm not talking about husks."

"Who?" Garrus asked.

"Cerberus."

"Just when I didn't think I could hate them anymore," Jack growled.

"Are you sure about this?" Vega asked.

"It makes sense with all the evidence put together," Shepard replied. "Cerberus was doing experiments across the Omega-4 relay and unleashed husks onto Omega which were able to transform other people into husks. Similar to the brute we ran into on Tuchanka. With them working so closely with reaper tech, the chances of becoming indoctrinated are massive. Before we head groundside, I need to contact Miranda and see if I can confirm this. Ready yourselves."

Shepard left the CIC to the comm. room.

"This will make things more difficult," Garrus noted.

"Two enemies into one," Grunt said. "If anything that makes things easier."

"I agree with Godzilla here," Jack said.

"Thanks for the compliment," Grunt chuckled.

"This is no laughing matter," Tali chided the two. "Cerberus, without the reaper's help, was able to cause the extinction of the articians and the near extinction of half a dozen hyper-advance races. With the reapers help they will be a force to be reckon with."

Grunt pounded his fist into his right hand. "Let them come. Their lives will end at the end of my shotgun."

Jack's fists glowed. "And my powers. Now we have a chance to kill Cerberus soldiers left and right. I'm glad I stayed."

VVVVVV

The conference table lowered when Shepard approached it. He walked on top of it and the QEC scanned him. Before him was Miranda who was hard at work with an exion at a terminal. Miranda heard the chime and looked up.

"Commander!" she said in surprise. "What do I owe the pleasure?"

"Cerberus is working for the reapers."

"That is- Are you sure?"

"Cerberus is making attacks on the facility that Mordin is working at. The only reason why they would is that they are working for the reapers. Along with the husk invasion on Omega, just furthers this notion."

"If that is true, then it would explain a lot." Miranda nodded to the exion next to her who just handed her a file.

"How so?"

"Cerberus went silent after the events of Omega. Considering the losses Cerberus suffered from Anderson's efforts and even the Omega situation, we expected them to be on the borderline of collapse and yet-"

"And yet?"

"Not too long ago, after being in the dark for a while, they started a massive recruitment drive. So to speak. They somehow not only came from the brink of collapse, but have the resources to do massive recruitment. Even hiring many mercenaries."

"Mercenaries?"

"Yes. They have hired mercenaries from many organizations. And here's the crazy thing. These mercenaries will stay with them permanently and then money transfers to said organization stops immediately."

"Indoctrination?"

"With this new information, it is the only thing that does make sense."

"This is disturbing news. I want you to continue your work. Cerberus with reaper backing will prove to be extreme threat to this galaxy and must be destroyed as soon as possible."

"Yes, Commander. Talk to you later."

VVVVVV

Everyone was inside the Normandy shuttle as it entered Sur'Kesh's atmosphere. The area that the facility inhabited was lush with greenery and had stone hills. The sky was just partially cloudy making it a lovely day. The buildings had oval bases, but were similar to Aztec ruins in vertical structure. The facility consisted of three of these white buildings. They surrounded a waterfall with three rivers converging to the waterfall in the center of the facility.

"Time to hit the hornet nest," Shepard muttered. He used the shuttle's comm. system. "Joker, fire at will at the Cerberus frigate."

"Aye, aye," Joker replied.

"Alright team, Wrex and Vega will stay in the shuttle to give it protection while the rest of us will go in and secure Mordin and the cure. Wrex, have the shuttle find a secure landing zone and cover that LZ until we are able to get the female out of this facility."

"Got it, Commander," Vega said.

"I'll guard that LZ, Shepard," Wrex added.

"I'm ready to kick some Cerberus ass," Jack said.

"Ah, crap," Joker said over the comm.

"What happened, Joker?" Shepard asked.

"They have more ships. And they're attacking."

"We are taking evasive manoeuvres," EDI added. "The two other frigates were hidden around the planet's moon waiting for us to attack and reveal ourselves."

"Try to shake them and prepare for our extraction," Shepard ordered.

"Yes, Commander," EDI said.

The shuttle found a landing zone just inside the facility's perimeter. A couple of salarians stood at the entrance of the facility. They held their SMGs ready to shoot. Shepard came out of the shuttle.

"I'm Commander Shepard. Mordin sent for me."

"Ah, yes, Commander," the guard on the right said. "Apologies for the greeting."

"It's understandable, but keep on alert. We detected Cerberus frigates entering the system. The Normandy is currently engaging them, but it's one ship against who knows how many. We expect them to attack at any time. I need you two to put this facility at high alert."

"Yes, Commander. Right away. Thank you for the warning."

"I'll enter you in the system allowing you full access to the facility, Commander," the other salarian guard said. "There's a scanner in front of top-level security doors. It will recognize you."

"Thank you." Shepard signalled to his team. "Move out."

They entered inside the facility. It was fairly empty. The walkways were straightforward as Shepard and his team were able to navigate through the hallways quickly towards Mordin's lab on level one. The security device next to the door initiated its scanner and scanned Shepard's bio-signature.

The doors opened and the squad moved inside. Upon entering, Shepard spotted Mordin walking towards the right side of the area onto the balcony. Mordin looked to his right and saw Shepard. "Shepard!" He turned to face him and Shepard approached. "Excellent timing. Good to have you here."

"It's good to see you again, Mordin," Shepard said as he shook his hand.

"Indeed," he replied while walking to his console. "We can exchange proper greetings later. We need to hurry now. Females have weak immune system. Most didn't survive."

"I'm sure you did all you could, Mordin."

"The resources the Order provided ensured that there was a success. I did everything I could to save who I could." Mordin walked to the location of the krogan female and Shepard followed behind. "One survivor left though. Need to get her off-world."

"She still here?"

"Yes. Placed her in protective isolation." Mordin stopped in front of a large glass tank with the krogan inside. "Recommend gentle approach. Krogan slow to trust."

Shepard took a step towards the tank. "I'm Commander Shepard. I was called in to assist Mordin."

Inside the tank he saw the female krogan dressed in protective wear that had formal qualities. She sat in a secured chair that restricted much movement.

"Are you here to kill me?" she asked.

"We're here to take you home."

"Why?" she asked. Her tone was filled with little hope and heavy scepticism. "What am I to you?"

Shepard took a few steps forward. "You're the future of the krogan race. I'm fighting for that."

An explosion went off in the distance. It shook the facility. The alarms went off warning of the attack.

"ALERT," the PA system warned. "UNIDENTIFIED VESSELS HAVE BREACHED THE PARAMETER."

"Then I hope you brought an army."

VVVVVV

The shuttle landed at the landing zone that the STG point them to. Vega and Wrex stood outside of the shuttle, leaning against it, waiting for Shepard to retrieve the female.

"So what happens when you get the female back to Tuchanka?" Vega asked.

"It will change the political landscape," Wrex answered. "Renegotiations will need to be done with the female clan. It will grant full power towards Urdnot. At the very least it will get my people to work with the turians and salarians to fight the reapers."

An explosion went off in the distance destroying a part of a building. Wrex and Vega jumped to their feet. They saw a frigate come into view over the facility. The alarm immediately went off after the attack.

"Cerberus," Wrex growled.

Over a dozen shuttles and a gunship came from the Cerberus frigate. One of the gunships started heading towards their direction.

"Get in the shuttle and keep evading that gunships until pickup," Wrex told Vega. "This area is too exposed to air strikes. I'll keep the LZ secure until pickup."

"Got it," Vega said. He went into the shuttle. The shuttle took off with the gunship trailing behind. "Good luck, Wrex."

Wrex heard rocket jet sounds behind him. He turned around while pulling out his shotgun. Several Cerberus troopers came up from the lower levels using jet boots.

"You chose the wrong krogan to fight," Wrex announced to the troopers as he fired his shotgun.

VVVVVV

"Shepard, we need to get the female to the landing pad," Mordin said.

"I have Wrex and Vega waiting there to take us out of here."

"Good. I'll need you to activate the tank's lift at the different checkpoints. I'll take care of security clearance from this end."

Another explosion happened closer to Shepard's position. Some debris fell from the ceiling. Mordin rushed into the small chamber next to the tank. The door closed shut behind him.

"Are you okay, m'am?" Shepard asked the krogan.

"I'm fine, Commander," she answered.

Mordin was working away at his console. "Females kept secret," he said. "Possibly a mole in STG. Could be indoctrinated. If no krogan alliance with turians, reapers will be left unchallenged."

"We'll do more than challenge them," Shepard quipped as he activated the terminal in front of him, activating the lift of the tank and its corresponding chamber.

"Shepard, meet us at the next checkpoint, Cerberus is likely to target- Ugh!" Mordin yelled while falling over from an explosion that hit the tank. He quickly got back up to his feet.

The tank went up to reveal a Cerberus shuttle behind it with two Cerberus troopers firing their ARs on their position. Shepard and his team took positions around the area.

"Hurry, next checkpoint!" Mordin yelled.

"Pull them out, Liara!" Shepard ordered.

"Got it," she said while her hands glowed.

The two troopers were pulled out of the shuttle.

"You know what to do, Jack," Shepard said.

Jack jumped out of cover and said with a smile on her face, "Sup, bitches!" She launched forward a warp attack that exploded the two suspended troopers.

Ash saw the shuttle door start to close. She ran forward and threw a grenade right inside the passenger area of the shuttle just as the door closed. The shuttle barely made it twenty feet before the grenade went off blowing out the passenger area. The explosion caused the shuttle to careen away and crash into the facility building across from them making it explode.

"Shepard, incoming!" Vega warned. The Normandy's shuttle flew right by Shepard's team with a gunship tailing them. "We'll try to shake him. Get the female to the LZ as soon as possible. Wrex is waiting."

"I'm currently fighting Cerberus soldiers here," Wrex said over the comm. "I'm currently handling them. Though Shepard, if we make it out of here, I'm making you an honorary krogan."

Another Cerberus shuttle came in and hover over the balcony area ahead. Several salarian guards came into the area to fight alongside Shepard against the Cerberus troopers. One of the troopers threw a smoke grenade to the ground below. The smoke bellowed upwards hiding the troopers from sight.

"Lay down some suppressing fire through the smoke," Shepard ordered. "Tali, Grunt. With me!"

The two followed behind him as he went down the left side of the walkway. One of the troopers stood in cover behind a doorway waiting for a break in Shepard's team's fire. Shepard extended the omni-blade from his left hand and stabbed it forward impaling the Cerberus soldier's head. Tali and Grunt went around him to flank the other two Cerberus soldiers. They opened fired with their shotguns. The force of the blast knocked them over the ledge of the balcony.

"Area is clear," Tali said.

"I expected more of a fight," Grunt scoffed.

"This fight is far from over," Shepard chided. "Everyone move up. We have to get to the checkpoint."

Shepard's team went to the end of the walkway to a door which opened to a staircase that went by a small waterfall.

"Those troopers seemed way too focused and emotionless," Liara observed.

"They're indoctrinated," Shepard replied. "It's expected."

They took it up to the top and exited at the next floor. There was a small fire burning on the ground from a previous attack. Ahead were four Cerberus soldiers. Three were troopers whereas one was a centurion who had a large shield.

Shepard's squad moved quickly, taking cover around the area to get better vantage points. Garrus fired several rounds from his sniper rifle at the shield-holding centurion. "My rounds aren't penetrating that shield," he said.

"Jack, take his shield," Shepard ordered.

"Yes, Commander." Jack used her biotics to yank the shield away from the centurion leaving him exposed.

Liara followed up with a singularity which pulled in three of the soldiers towards the core. Ashley fired a couple rounds at the lone Cerberus trooper and then casually tossed a grenade at the singularity. It was sucked in towards the gravitational pull. The explosion sent the troopers into the walls and ceiling.

"Area clear, Commander," Ashley said.

"Fall in," Shepard said.

They went to the end of the area to the security console next to the door. The door was marked "Species Observation Area." The machine scanned in Shepard's bio-signature.

The door opened up revealing Mordin with the krogan female, waiting for Shepard to activate the checkpoint allowing them to move forward. Shepard approached the console and typed in the commands to move it forward.

"How are you two holding up?" he asked in sincere concern.

Mordin went through the system's data indicating the integrity of the tank. "Containment shield is strong," he said, "but not designed for direct fire."

"This isn't your problem, Commander," the krogan said. "You don't know me."

"But I would like to," Shepard said as he typed in the last of the commands. "Just hang in there. How many more checkpoints?"

"Just landing area," Mordin answered. "Hope Urdnot Wrex still waiting."

"Wrex can't keep his hands off a fertile female," the krogan joked. "He'll be there."

"I'll see you up top," Shepard answered.

The tank moved up to a different level.

VVVVVV

"You need to shake it," Vega told the pilot.

"I'm trying!" the pilot yelled back. "Bastard is right on my tail. This shuttle doesn't have any weapons so there's dick-all I can do about that gunship."

Vega gripped his chair and then came up with an idea. "I'll need you to open the side door when I tell you to."

"Are you insane?"

"Just trust me."

Vega ran to the passenger area of the shuttle. He took out his anti-material sniper rifle and then clipped on his helmet. Vega then attached a strap to his armour and the other end to a safety bar in the shuttle.

"Open now!"

The door hissed as it opened and the entire cabin filled with wind. The strap went tense from Vega being partially sucked out. He leaned out of the shuttle and took aim with his sniper rifle. Vega narrowed his sights on the gunship pilot. He pulled the trigger. The round went right through the glass and into the pilot's chest. The gunship spun out of control and crashed into the waterfall below.

"Close the side," Vega ordered. "And head back to the landing zone."

VVVVVV

"More Cerberus soldiers!" Grunt warned.

They turned to see half a dozen soldiers move into the area ahead, where they are suppose to go.

"Jack, use shockwave to knock them back allowing us to move forward," Shepard told her.

"You got it, Commander," she answered while sending a shockwave.

"Grunt, Ashley, lay down suppressing fire as the rest of us advance."

"Yes, Commander," Ashley answered as she and Grunt fired a volley of rounds from their ARs at the Cerberus troopers that were not affected by the shockwave.

"Tali, summon your drone behind the group, allowing us to advance again."

"Yes, Commander," she answered while pointing her omni-tool. "Go get them Chiktikka!"

The purple drone appeared behind the troopers shooting electricity. This final distraction was enough to allow Shepard's squad to close the gap putting them close enough to counter-attack.

"Open fire!" Shepard ordered. "Jack, Liara, take away their riot shields!"

The Cerberus troopers and centurions were riddled with rounds Shepard's team. Jack went as far as beating one of the centurions to death with his own shield using her biotics. The team move forward. Part of the walkway in front of the ladder to the next floor was destroyed from an explosion leaving a five foot gap with small fires burning inside it.

Shepard ran forward and jumped the gap. Everyone else ran and jumped as well. Shepard went to the ladder and started climbing up with his team behind him. Grunt was the last one. He eyed the ladder.

"Come on, Grunt," Garrus yelled.

"I'm coming," he said while placing his foot on the ladder. He tried going up but the ladder squealed until the bolts broke away causing the ladder and Grunt to fall to the ground. "The ladder is broken!"

"And you broke it."

"The ladder is weak."

"Quit your bitching," Jack groaned. She stood at the edge of the top and surrounded Grunt in dark energy. Jack used her biotics to lift Grunt up to their level. "Wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Stay focused," Shepard scolded. "We just have one more checkpoint."

They saw six Cerberus troopers and centurions fly in with their jet boots and land.

"Shepard, they found us!" Mordin yelled. "Need immediate assistance."

"Take them out!" Shepard ordered his squad.

Garrus fired a concussion round at one of the still hovering troopers launching him across the area and going over the edge of the building.

Smoke grenades were sent out to cloak the remaining troopers and centurions. Liara moved up and used a singularity. The smoke was sucked in by the biotic attack with two troopers. Shepard detonated it with a warp.

Tali moved in and fired several rounds from her geth shotgun at one of the centurions that was just five feet away. Grunt grabbed the last trooper by the head and lifted him off of the ground. The trooper tried struggling against the krogan's grip, but it was in vain.

"You don't have the right to call yourselves warriors," Grunt scoffed. He then slammed the trooper to the ground cracking his head and helmet.

"That's the last of them, Commander," Ashley sighed in relief. "Now activate that checkpoint."

Shepard walked up to the console.

"Put in the final commands," Mordin said. "The pod will then transfer to the loading area where we can meet Wrex."

Shepard typed in the final commands in the console. Just the tank containing the krogan moved towards the ceiling. An automated forklift moved forward and connects to the tank. It moved backwards .

"Shepard, you have incoming," Vega warned.

Mordin leaned on the glass of his pod to look in the direction of the sound everyone heard. Shepard looked in the same direction as well. A large metal object fell from the sky. Flames came out from it as it descended. It landed on the ground just ahead of the team. Dirt flew up from the impact. It took a few moments for it to clear and allow everyone to see what it was.

The metal object in question was a fifteen foot tall mech. Its engine roared as it stood upright showing off it large height and massive bulk. Its right forearm was a cannon and its left forearm had a claw at the end. Just like the FREYR they faced on Omega, this mech was controlled by a soldier inside. Unlike that mech, this cockpit was not hidden within the mech. The cockpit was covered by orange glass allowing the Cerberus trooper inside see and target enemies. The cannon barrel adjusted as the mech aimed at Shepard.

"Oh shi-" he yelped as he jumped out of the way.

The ATLAS mech fired its cannon and blew apart the console Shepard was originally standing in front of. The rest of the squad took cover as well. The squad returned fire at the mech. The mech's shielding protected it from the barrage.

"Its shielding is protecting itself from our weapon fire," Liara said.

"I'll try draining its shield," Tali said as she pointed her omni-tool.

Electricity surged around the mech. The mech stopped moving forward briefly. The electricity died down and the mech continued forward in its slow robotic pace.

"That barely got its shield down an eighth," Ash said.

The mech fired another round from its cannon.

"It has to have some weakness," Garrus said. "Shepard, any ideas?"

"Actually, yes," he answered. "Unlike the FREYR mech we faced in Omega, this mech has a major weakness."

"Can to show us?"

Shepard pulled out Asha and jumped over his cover. He held Asha like a spear and threw it with all his force. The swordstaff flew and went right through the glass of the mech's cockpit. The sword impaled the trooper inside the cockpit. The mech immediately stopped in its tracks. The trooper looked at the swordstaff in his chest in shock. He held the blade and attempted to pull it out with the last of his strength.

Shepard stepped towards the mech with his right hand raised, aiming at the mech. The crystal at the end of the staff glowed. Shepard's eyes glowed as brightly as the crystal.

"Boom."

Energy exploded from the staff blowing out the cockpit and ending the trooper's agony.

"Where the hell did you learn to do that explosion?" Jack asked in wonderment.

Shepard used his biotics to return his sword to himself. "I-I don't know," he replied in genuine shock. "After I threw the staff, the rest was just... instinct."

"We don't have much time to wonder," Ash said. "We need to get to the landing zone and make sure the krogan gets off this planet in the shuttle."

"Right."

The door to Mordin's pod opened. "I'm coming along. Have to make sure she's safe."

VVVVVV

The shuttle returned back to the landing zone where they agreed to meet. Vega could see Wrex behind some cover firing at an enemy that was out of sight. The shuttle landed and Vega jumped out and saw just how much damage he caused. Wrex killed the last Cerberus trooper in the area. Around him were over a couple dozen bodies of troopers and centurions splayed all over. Bloody holes filled each of their bodies.

"It looks like you didn't need my help," Vega sighed, disappointed he didn't get in on the action.

"To be a clan chieftain you have to be tough, whelp," Wrex said. "Though I did see the stunt you pulled up there. You have a quad."

VVVVVV

Shepard's team moved up the stairs to the mid-level of the science lab they entered. The troopers on the floor below used their jet boots to go up to their level. This only made them easier targets to take down. Grunt and Jack fired one from their shotgun for each of the troopers came up.

"These Cerberus soldiers may be focused and determined but they lack a will to survive," Garrus observed.

"They're indoctrinated remember," Shepard said. "Like those salarian prisoners on Virmire."

"Yes," Mordin agreed. "Effects of indoctrination varies from subject to subject. Ground soldiers were likely quickly indoctrinated to ensure immediate loyalty, but at the cost of self-preservation."

"You need to notify the Alliance when we get back on the ship, skipper," Ash said.

"Well we're just about done here," Shepard said. "There's the landing bay."

The group approached the door which opened. To the right Shepard and his team saw Wrex and Vega waiting for them. There were bodies of Cerberus soldiers everywhere. To the left of the area, half a dozen salarian soldiers came in through a door. They all came together.

"Where's the female?" Wrex asked Mordin.

Shutters opened up in the wall revealing the pod.

"There she is," Mordin said in relief. "We made it."

"Professor, the facility has been cleared of Cerberus soldiers and it appears that the frigate has retreated from the planet," the CO of the STG said.

"Excellent. Just need to give the female an immune-boost injection to ensure she'll be fine from now on."

The pod was lowered close to the shuttle.

"I do have a name, Professor," the krogan said plainly. "Anahit."

"Apologies," Mordin said sincerely. "Did not mean to offend."

Mordin walked up to the pod and typed in a few commands. The pod hissed as the locks opened. The front side slid up. Wrex stood to the side to allow Mordin do his work, all the while watching Anahit. Mordin walked in with the syringe and injected the solution into her.

"There. You can now go to Tuchanka."

"To dampen the genophage and give birth to many krogan," she finished. "I know what I must do. I volunteered for this to save my people. I don't intend to turn away now. Now can you help me out of this chair?"

"Yes, yes." Mordin pressed a button on the side of the chair which removed the protective restraints allowing Anahit to get on her feet.

Out of the corner of his eye Mordin saw one of the STG soldiers move forward quickly while reaching for his pistol. The soldiers aimed his pistol and fired at Anahit. "Look out!" he yelled while jumping forward. The round penetrated his stomach, but protected Anahit.

"Mordin!" Shepard screamed running towards him.

Wrex fired several rounds from his AR at the indoctrinated salarian. The salarian fell to the ground. Wrex pointed his AR at the other salarians. "Anyone else of you indoctrinated?"

The STG soldiers backed away with their hands raised in a casual surrender while shaking their heads.

Anahit's eyes were wide at the sight of Mordin on the ground. "He... He took that round for me."

Shepard crouched next to Mordin. "Just hang in there, Professor. Just hang in there. I'll just apply this medi-gel and we can get you some medical help and-" Shepard raised his omni-tool. Mordin just swatted it away.

"No..." he gasped. "I-It's too late. Round penetrated vital organs. Death will be in minutes. Even with medi-gel."

"You can't just give up."

"No. Not give up. I did something to improve the galaxy. I-I... I did all I can do with my life."

Shepard cursed his own limitations. The previous time healed someone; it was out of love for his Eli'Demi. The very bond he shared with Tali'Zorah gave him strength in situations that caused her any amount of harm whether physical or emotional. The times he was able to heal himself were not because of his ability. It was because of the pain Tali felt from seeing him in pain and close to death. As good of a friend as Mordin was, he didn't have the ability to save him without killing himself.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to stop him in time," Shepard apologized with tears coming from his eyes. He held Mordin's hand.

"D-Don't be," Mordin said. "Did all you could. M-Mission was a success. Anahit is safe. Th-That's what matters. Y-You helped me find peace, Shepard."

"Yes, you did."

"Things becoming less clear. End is near. Don't know if there is... life after death or some sort of supreme being. But if there is. If there is. I hope I found my atonement."

"You did, Professor. I assure you, you did."

Mordin's hand went limp and his eyes closed as he released the last of his breath.

"G-Good bye, Professor."

Shepard stood up and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Mordin will be remembered by my people, Shepard," Wrex said while escorting Anahit to the shuttle. "I promise you that."

"We have just lost a good friend," Shepard said to his team. "Many of us wouldn't be here if it wasn't for his efforts. We cannot allow sorrow to delay us. But we will not forget. We will not forget what Mordin has done for us. We will not forget just what is at stake in this war. The reapers and Cerberus is against us all and they will do whatever it takes to continue the cycle of extinction. Cerberus has struck a blow against us, but it will not make our resolve falter. For the sake of the memories of Mordin, for the sake of this galaxy, we must win this war. And we will win this war. And the reapers and Cerberus will learn that in trying to shatter our will, it has only made it stronger. We will make them regret ever starting a war with us."

VVVVVV

Shepard inside the comm. room. He went to the side of the table. Five holograms appeared in place. Four of the holograms were of the Council while the remaining was Admiral Hackett.

"Is this report right?" Tevos asked. "Cerberus is working for the reapers?"

"The evidence adds up," Shepard answered. "Cerberus, which was on the brink of destruction, suddenly gains a vast amount of resources and starts massive recruitment. And to be truthful it doesn't surprise me they would stoop this low."

"This is quite disturbing news, Commander," Hackett said. "The reapers are bad enough, but Cerberus is going to further complicate things. Our undercover agents were unable to figure out how Cerberus was able to amass so many resources in such a short time, but the reapers would explain all of that."

"It might be best that the operatives stay away from any and all labs or artifacts that Cerberus may have," Shepard warned. "If they get indoctrinated, then Alliance secrets may be given to Cerberus."

"Each of our operatives are not informed of anything that may harm the Alliance such as strategies, protocols or resources," Hackett assured him. "But I will take your advisement."

"The others Councillors and I have been talking and came to the conclusion we need to unify our forces in order to fight the reaper and Cerberus threats across this galaxy," Udina said. "Hackett was selected to organize our forces throughout the galaxy. With the krogans on board, we can really start fighting back."

"We are heading back to Tuchanka to return Wrex and Anahit," Shepard said.

"I still worry about the long term consequences about treating this krogan of the genophage," Velarn said.

"Would you prefer they go extinct?" Shepard growled. "My people will help with long term relations with the krogan. Another rebellion will not happen."

"Cause that's what your people are good for: 'helping'. Like telling us about their previous encounter with the reapers after the reapers attack."

"Well we helped when you four did nothing. And frankly the Citadel was directly attack by a reaper and you still didn't believe they were real, so what were the odds of an organization of races, which you never heard of, have the credibility to make you believe."

"This antagonism isn't helping anyone," Tevos interrupted.

"I agree," Katlyo said. "What matters is that your mission was a success and you were able to repel Cerberus from Sur'Kesh which will allow my people some breathing room to prepare for an assault on earth. Where will you go from here, Commander?"

"Like I said, we will return the two krogans and from there we will decide our next move," Shepard answered.

"Very well, Commander. Good luck on your mission."

"I'll let you know of any leads that may interest you, Commander," Hackett said before all of the holograms blinked out.


	45. Unexpected Ally

Chapter 43: Unexpected Ally

Escorting Wrex and Anahit back to Tuchanka happened without any further issues. Most on the ship were upset over the death of Mordin. The doctor could get on your nerves when he talks non-stop, but he was a part of the crew and none of them would have achieved as much as they could without his help. At the very least the Professor died after finding his peace and atonement. With the help of Anahit, the Krogan have a future and cooperation between them and the salarians and turians can be achieved.

Shepard was in his cabin resting on his bed after seeing Wrex off. He promised that when the time came for retaliation, the krogan would be there. The cabin was just lit up by the aquarium in the wall. He thought it was a waste of space when he first came onto this ship, but now he finds it relaxing. The door of his cabin hissed as it opened. Shepard looked towards the door and saw Tali walking in. She removed her helmet as she rounded Shepard's display case.

"How are you doing?" she asked him as she crawled on top of the bed and snuggled up to his side.

Shepard wrapped an arm around her and held her close. Tali wrapped an arm around his chest and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm always good when you're around."

"I mean about Mordin's death."

"A great loss. He was a good man and we wouldn't be where we are without him."

"It's just that he survived the collector base raid and he dies by getting killed by an indoctrinated salarian."

Shepard kissed Tali on her forehead. "It's not fair, I know, but we will fight in memory of him." He turned to his side so he was facing her. "We haven't really had much time together since I came back onto this ship."

"John, I'm not a selfish woman. We have a galaxy to save. Anyways, I take pleasure in moments like this."

"Commander, you have an incoming transmission from Alliance Commander," EDI announced.

Shepard groaned and then said, "Moments that still get interrupted for the sake of the galaxy. I'll take it here EDI." He got up and off of the bed.

Tali grabbed her pillow and buried her head under it.

"Hackett won't be able to see you there. He'll just see me on the other side."

Tali shoved the pillow under her head and just watched him.

Hackett's face appeared over the display case. "Shepard."

"Admiral Hackett. Please forgive me if I'm a little uneasy. Last time you personally contacted me, it didn't end well."

"Understood, Commander. This will not be the case. We received a distress signal from one of our colonies, and thought you might want to personally check it out."

"Which colony?"

"Mindoir."

Tali jumped off of the bed when she heard the name.

"What can you tell me?" Shepard demanded.

"There's not much more I can tell you. Our resources are stretched fairly thin especially with Cerberus attacks occurring at different locations around the galaxy, so I was only able to send one frigate. I thought that since you adopted Mindoir as your home when you were growing up, that you would want to take care of this personally."

"That I would, Admiral. We'll head there right away."

"Thank you, Commander."

Hackett's transmission was then cut.

"I'm coming on this mission as well, John," Tali said. "Mindoir was a second home to me. No way in hell I'm letting it get destroyed."

"We'll save Mindoir. I'm going to call in back-up. I'm not taking any chances with this."

VVVVVV

Shepard was serious about getting reinforcements. Meeting him in Mindoir's system was two frigates and one cruiser. The four ships flew to Mindoir to find just one cruiser in the planet's orbit.

"The ladar is reading the ship's silhouette as batarian," Joker told Shepard.

"Batarians?" Ash repeated. "We haven't heard from them since the reapers invaded earth. What are they doing here?"

"Possibly trying to get some revenge for what happened in the Bahak system," Shepard answered. Over the comm. he ordered, "I want all ships to surround the ship. When we finish planet-side, I want to make sure they don't get away. Stay silent till then."

"Yes, Commander," one of the captains answered.

VVVVVV

The shuttle touched down on an open field just outside the colony's parameter. Gunshots could be heard.

Shepard jumped out of the shuttle and quickly called EDI, "EDI, where is the battle happening?"

"The majority of combat appears to be happening in the center of the colony," EDI answered. "You may be able to immediately stop the attackers through a surprise attack."

"Thank you, EDI," Shepard said. "Alright, everyone. You heard her. We cut off take them down right away and save this colony."

Shepard's squad followed behind him.

"Cowardly batarians," Grunt growled while shaking his head. "Attacking a defenceless colony instead of fighting the military. Just goes to show how weak they are."

"They will pay for what they have done here, Grunt," Shepard assured him.

"They better," Tali said. "This is a good colony. It's monstrous to attack it."

The colony was still majority pre-fab units with just the colonial centre and spaceport as fully built structures. On their way to the colony's center, they occasionally saw the colony's flag. On the flag was the colonial seal with Shepard's face on the background of the emblem. Since the last attack on the colony, Mindoir heavily invested in defences. The civilians were hidden in their own panic rooms or reinforced shelters. This made traversing through the colony fairly fast. It didn't take long for them to find the colony center where the majority of the fighting was taking place.

Shepard's squad stopped before going around the corner of the pre-fab unit just before the center. Shepard edged the corner of the unit. He peered around the corner and saw two dozen batarians soldiers armed with ARs. By their side were half a dozen varren. One of the batarians shot one of the colonists who was crawling along the ground. The batarians laughed as the man died from the rounds.

"Here's the plan," Shepard said to his team. "Jack is going to launch a shockwave in their direction to stun and disorient them. Liara and I will follow up with two singularities that will pull them together. Everyone will then follow up with shooting them while they're in the air. We clear?"

"Yes," everyone answered back.

"Jack now!"

Jack jumped out from behind the pre-fab and started yelling, "Hey uglies! Over here! Yeah you fucking bastards, over here!"

The group of batarians saw her yelling at them.

"Stupid human revealed herself and she doesn't even have a gun," one of them chuckled.

"Slave or kill?" another one asked.

"You heard the boss. Kill them all. But that doesn't mean we can have some fun first."

Jack saw the leering batarians walk in her direction. 'Stupid, stupid bastards,' she thought. The batarians grouped together giving Jack optimal damage. She glowed blue and swung her right arm forwards. The biotic shockwave caught the batarians raiders completely off guard as the shockwave went right through the entire group. Shepard and Liara joined in and created singularities to pull the raiders into tight bundles.

"Now!" Shepard signalled.

The rest of the squad came out and opened fire on the floating helpless raiders that could only watch as they were killed one by one by the squad's deadly efficiency.

The singularities died out and the dead bodies of the batarians and varren fell to the ground in large heaps.

"That was easy," Vega noted.

"We should make sure there aren't any more raiders before we go after their ship," Garrus suggested.

"Not to mention that there's supposed to be an Alliance frigate around here," Ash reminded everyone. "Where are they?"

"Something just doesn't seem right, Shepard," Tali said.

"We stay cautious and search the colony," Shepard said.

Shepard crouched down to one of the bodies. He examined the face of one of the batarians. The squad heard him sigh. "Just as I suspected," he muttered.

"What is it, Commander?" Liara asked while crouching next to him.

"Look at his eyes."

Liara looked and saw what he saw. The batarian's eyes were similar to that of the husks.

"Don't bother taking any prisoners," Shepard told his squad. "Each of these batarians have been indoctrinated and partially huskified."

"Means less trouble for us," Grunt said.

"Can't exactly say I feel sorry for them," Tali mumbled.

They moved into the courtyard where they heard laughter coming from all around. Batarian soldiers appeared from on top of some of the pre-fab units.

"So we meet again, Shepard," one of the batarians said.

"Show yourself, coward," Shepard demanded. His helmet opened up to reveal his face.

"Ironic that you are the one to call me a coward," the batarian said.

Shepard looked in the direction of the voice and saw him.

"Balak," Shepard growled. "How the hell did you escape from prison?"

Balak stood between two of his subordinates on top of one of the pre-fab units. Just like the other batarians, his eyes also displayed signs of partial conversion.

"The new allies of my people," he answered. "Shortly after you destroyed the Bahak system, dreadnaughts appeared to us and offered us a chance to right the wrong you have committed against our people. While some of the reapers went to fight on your homeworld, one of the reapers came to the prison where I was being held. They knew of my previous encounter with you and offered me the chance to get my revenge against you." Balak laughed. "I came to your colony where you lived and went on to raze it to the ground. You should have killed me when you had the chance and now not only will I destroy this colony, I will kill you."

"The reapers are using you," Shepard yelled. "They don't care at all for your people nor your vengeance. They are using you as pawns until you out live your usefulness and then you will be turned into a husk like the dozens of cannibal husks we have seen before."

"I will not listen to your lies!" he roared. "The last Alliance group tried telling me the same lies. We made short work of them. After we deal with you, we will destroy this colony and go on to destroy every colony in Alliance space while they fight the reapers."

"You goddamn stupid monster."

"You dare call me a monster? What my men and I did here is nothing compared to what you did in Bahak. You killed 90000 batarians and their property."

"There were 300000 batarians in that system!" Shepard countered in anger. "And I had no choice. The reapers were going to use the relay of that system to enter every system in the galaxy. That colony was already dead. I just decided whether the reapers get here now or later. It was a large sacrifice, but it was necessary to save trillions of lives."

"Lies! All lies!"

Shepard wasn't sure whether he was acting this way because he was indoctrinated or not. His current state is too similar to their last encounter.

"At this point I don't care whether you believe me or not," Shepard growled in frustration. "You're not a batarian anymore. You're just a slaver who has become a slave. You let the reapers modify you and you obey their every beck and call. You're not just a traitor to your own race, you're a traitor to all sentient life. We will end you."

"So the monster finally reveals himself," Balak scoffed. "You act so high and mighty. Tell me. What makes you any different from me?"

"I do my best to protect lives." Shepard reached for his sword. His helmet closed shut over his face. "And I mourn the dead."

Shepard's squad took cover behind anything they could while the batarians on top of the pre-fab units fired on their position. Shepard ran between pre-fab units and jumped up on top of the one to his right. The two batarians on top of the pre-fab unit turned to face him. Shepard ran up close and swung his sword. The two batarians' torsos were separated from their legs.

Several batarians jumped down from one of the pre-fab units and charged towards Tali's and Garrus' position. They were very fast. A quality the two could only contribute to their enhancements from the reapers. Tali and Garrus tried shooting them as much as they could, but they were able to take a lot of damage.

Just when the batarians were almost on their position, the three batarians were suddenly lifted into their air. They briefly thought Shepard was responsible, but they saw him still fighting on the rooftops.

"Gravity is one mean mother!"

Tali and Garrus looked in direction of the voice. Out from between the pre-fabs came Jacob dressed in Alliance armour. The two shot the batarians.

"Jacob?" Garrus said.

"It's good to see everyone again," Jacob said. "We'll catch up, but first we need to take down the rest of these bastards."

The team renewed the pressure they were laying down on Balak's forces. Even despite the indoctrination, they were still showing fear. Shepard tore their forces apart from behind as he made his way towards Balak.

Balak bared his teeth as he took aim with his AR. Shepard moved up too quickly and lifted him up with his biotics and threw him to the ground below. He looked to his team to see them finish off the last of Balak's forces. Shepard jumped down to the ground below. He placed his sword on his back and his helmet opened up. Balak crawled backwards to a barrier as Shepard approached him.

"You think you're such a good guy?" Balak scoffed. "What I did here is nothing compared to what you did in Bahak. I killed thousands. You killed hundreds of thousands."

"I'm done explaining myself to you, Balak," Shepard said. "No matter what I say, it will never convince you of my intentions. You will refuse it."

"So what now? You arrest me?"

"You're an agent of the reapers and a partially transformed as well. You're too dangerous to take in." Shepard opened his omni-tool to contact the fleet in orbit. "Captain do you read me?"

"I do, Commander," the tia'zu captain of the cruiser answered.

"As the highest ranked officer in this system I am obligated to inform you that as a member of the artician monarchy, I invoke the Rite of Decree."

"I- Yes, my Lord. Great Architect bless you."

Shepard crouched down by Balak who only stared in anger at him. "Come on," he egged. "Do your worse."

Shepard's eyes suddenly glowed red. Any aspect of emotion left his face. "You will face what you have done." The red energy burst forth from his eyes and entered through Balak's eyes.

Like Shepard's eyes were just a moment ago, Balak's eyes were red. Shepard got off of the ground and walked away. Balak went into a seizure. Foam formed around his mouth. Balak tried screaming but the saliva foam that formed around and inside his mouth muffled. Shepard's team watch in shock as Balak suffered from Shepard did to him. Balak's back arched and then finally rested on the ground as his life finally left him. The red glow from his eyes faded.

"W-What was that?" Jacob asked.

"That was the most severe punishment my specie can inflict upon anyone," Shepard answered. "We use it very rarely. That was actually the first time it was used in fifty thousand years. The Rite forces the guilty to face all the harm they inflicted upon the innocent by placing them in the role of their victims. It is the pain they inflict upon the innocent that causes their own death. True empathy."

"Damn harsh," Ashley said. "But I can't say I feel sorry for him."

"He had it coming," Jack said. "No use to feeling sorry for him."

"So Jacob, how did you get here?" Shepard asked him.

"Been doing mission after mission for the Alliance, mostly under Admiral Hackett's orders," Jacob replied. "The Alliance has been trying to fight a war on several fronts. The army you're building is helping, but we can only do so much. A lot of our colonies have had their defences lowered as we try to fight back against the reapers and Cerberus. My team came here to aid Mindoir in its defence against whoever was attacking here. I lost most of my team here. The batarians were armed with strong shields and weapons."

"All thanks to their reaper masters."

"Slavers who become the slaves," Jack said.

"It is fairly ironic," Liara mentioned. "We should examine their ship to see if there are anymore batarians or if they have any slaves we can free."

"I'll head back to the frigate and get some more soldiers," Jacob said. "We'll secure this colony and see if anyone here needs our help. After that... well I guess it's wherever Hackett says." Jacob held out his hand. "Good luck on your mission, Shepard."

Shepard grabbed his hand and shook. "Good luck to you as well." He let go of his hand.

"We'll likely see each other again, Commander. Especially in our retaliation."

VVVVVV

Most of the batarian soldiers that came along with Balak were planet-side, leaving just the skeleton crew of the ship. They didn't put up much resistance against Shepard's squad that entered the ship. It took thirty minutes for them to clear the ship of any hostiles allowing them to go to the slave pens to see who the batarians had captive.

Shepard and his team examined cell after cell to locate any survivors. Each cell was roughly five-by five feet allowing very little room for the slave. The conditions any slave would endure would go far beyond even the worse prisons in the galaxy. Shepard couldn't tell if it was a good or terrible thing that they have yet to find a slave.

"You think they would have a few slaves," Liara commented.

"They might have been more focused on military action than slaving," Tali suggested.

"Bullshit," Jack cursed. "I know batarians. Lazy bastards. They always have some slaves to do shit they hate to do. Keep looking. We'll find someone."

"Over here!" Ashley called out. "I found someone."

The squad gathered around the cell she was pointing to. The cell just had one dim blue light to show what resided in the cell. Inside was a woman who had her arms and legs completely covered by metal clamps attached to the containment structure inside the cell. Her head was also covered by a similar techno-clamp.

"Can you hear me?" Shepard asked the captured woman.

The woman didn't answer nor do anything to signify that she was aware of their presence. Her chest was still moving to note she was breathing.

"She might be in a medically induced coma," Shepard suggested.

"A lot of security for just one slave," Garrus thought out loud.

"Doesn't look like they took advantage of her in this state," Jack observed. "They must really fear her. I like her already."

"We should get her out of there," Shepard said. "Open the door."

Tali hacked the panel next to the door allowing it to be opened.

"Now get her out."

"Are you sure, Shepard?" Vega asked. "She could be very dangerous."

"All the more reason to let her out," Grunt chuckled.

"She'll die here if we leave her," Shepard said. "Tali, get her out."

"Yes, Commander." Tali went over to the containment device and started working on the panel.

The device beeped notifying them that the hack was successful. The clamps hissed as they start to open. Shepard rushed over to the woman and caught her as she fell out of the device. Everyone's eyes widen when they saw her.

"A batarian?" Ashley gasped.

"We should get her to the med-bay right away," Garrus said.

"How do we know she's not like Balak and his men?"

"She wouldn't be in that cell, especially not in those restraints," Shepard said. "If she was just in the cell with no restraints then I would be suspicious. Also look." Shepard opened one of her eyelids to show her natural eye. "She hasn't been modified like the others on this ship. We take her back."

VVVVVV

Shepard entered the med-bay where the batarian woman was being kept. Chakwas was at her desk going over the analysis she took of her.

"How is she doing, Doc?" Shepard asked.

"She'll recover," Chakwas answered. "She had some bruises along her arms and legs, but I believe that was likely from the metal clamps you said she had placed on her."

"What about her comatose state?"

"She is... was in a medically induced coma. Now that she is no longer getting the chemical, she should wake up any time."

"Anything else I should know?"

"Yes, actually. She's actually a biotic. Considering the analysis of her dark energy nodes in her nervous system, I would say she is quite powerful. That would explain why they kept her in the restraints and the medically induced coma. Here's the interesting thing. While the bio-implant in her head is standard batarian military implant, the bio-amp was not."

"They left her bio-amp in?"

"Yes, but it was basically fried. It will not work. I removed it and covered the insert slot for safety reasons, nonetheless. The amp in question is not standard Hegemony issued. It's definitely a black market variety. The omni-tool you found in her cell is right next to her. Hopefully it is hers."

"Who is she?" he muttered.

The batarian woman started groaning and shifted on her bed.

"Looks like you can ask her," Chakwas said.

Shepard walked over to the waking batarian. He stayed roughly a foot away from her bed to give her some space. The woman slowly started opening her eyes.

"Take easy," Shepard said in a calm voice. "You were in a medically induced coma so you may have some trouble mov-"

Shepard didn't have the chance to finish his sentence. The batarian jumped off of her bed and grabbed Shepard by the throat and pushed him forward bending him over the bed behind him.

"Looks like you can move just fine," Shepard said in a choked voice.

"You need help, Commander?" Chakwas asked casually.

"I'm good."

"Where am I?" the batarian demanded. "Who are you?"

Shepard calmly grabbed her hands and pulled them away from his neck gently as to not hurt her. Despite her immediate attack, she was still weak from being in the coma. "You're on the Normandy. And I'm Commander Shepard."

The batarian quickly backed away while tilting her head to the right. She looked angry. "I know you. You're the one who destroy Bahak."

"Yes, but I had no choice in the matter. The reapers were going to use the mass relay of that system to go to any system in the galaxy immediately. I destroyed the relay in order to slow their arrival and give this galaxy a chance to prepare for them."

"You were trying to stop the reapers?" Her demeanour suddenly changed.

"You know of them?"

"Yes. The reapers came roughly a couple of months ago to my homeworld. They took over my planet almost immediately. The Hegemony lost a majority of their fleet fighting them and when the reapers landed, the Hegemony leadership immediately stopped hostilities and announced to the people of their cooperation with them. Even saying that the reapers were offering a chance to get back at the humans for what happened at Bahak."

"Reapers don't cooperate. They control."

"I know that," she snipped. "My people and I found out their real intention during our infiltration missions."

"Your people?" Shepard said. "I'm sorry, but I didn't get your name. And who are you talking about when referring to 'your people?'"

The batarian woman stared at him, almost looking unsure when to answer him. "The Hegemony already knows about me, so I guess it doesn't matter that you know. I'm Oya Shaushka. I am the leader of the Abolitionists Movement."

"And what are you trying to abolition?"

"Everything that the Hegemony stands for. The caste system, slavery. All of it. The majority of the batarian population is part of the slavery caste. They do everything from dangerous heavy work to tedious jobs no one wants. Our civilization exists because of the work they have done and they are treated like trash by the upper castes."

"Miss Shaushka, we did an analysis on you and found that your bio-implant is Hegemony issued."

"I was an ex-Hegemony soldier."

"What changed your mind about the whole system? How did you become the leader of the resistance?"

"I was part of the highest caste. At this time I honestly didn't realize how wrong our system was. I was taught from birth that every caste earned their place. The reason why the lower castes were lower than us was because that was the place they earned. I didn't know the real truth until I joined the military. I saw people of different castes. The lower castes were sent out to do the most dangerous. They did their jobs without any complaints and came back not asking for any gratitude or congratulations. And I'm thinking, these people are doing jobs that the highest caste member, the supposed best-of-the-best, refuses to do because it is too dangerous. After a while I come to realize that the whole 'earn your place' motto is completely false. You don't earn your place. You are born and doomed into your place. The final straw was during one mission where we had to nullify a resistance group over ten years ago." Oya laughed. "There was no resistance group. I find out during the mission, that the land was occupied by casteless. They were trying to clear it for a city's expansion. There were families being slaughtered to clear this area. I took issue with my commander. He simply laughed and told me to do my duty. I didn't think twice. I killed him. I then killed everyone of that unit. This action had me lose my caste status immediately, but it caused an event. The casteless saw what I had done and were inspired. That was the day the resistance started. We spent every day since then doing everything we can to bring down the Hegemony."

"Everything you can?"

"We're now terrorists, though 'our' government would disagree. We never targeted civilian centres, nor kill innocent civilians regardless of caste."

"How did you get caught?"

"The Hegemony caught wind of our plan to finally take down the Hegemony once and for all."

"Which was?"

"A global attack against all Hegemony-associate governments. We had it all planned out even the aftermath to bring order back to the planet. It would also be during this attack we would attack their most vital structure-"

"Why are you telling me all this? I mean I'm not batarian."

"No, but I know you have been fighting the reapers for years now. My people and I now know that they exist. Infiltrators found that the Hegemony has been feeding our people to the reapers and their servants to created cybernetic monsters to increase the reaper's army and in return they are rewarded. As I mentioned before, we had a plan ready to go but I was captured before I was able to give the go ahead. We were going to strike at key government locations. One of which is the temple of unknown origin."

"I'm sorry the what?"

Oya saw her omni-tool next to her bed. She picked it up and summoned a holographic image of the temple. "We don't know much about it except it is very old. According to the classified documents we've obtained, this temple is at least 49000 years old. We found that the reapers' main operations take place here. We were planning to blow the temple up-"

"You can't destroy that temple!"

"Why?"

"That temple is key to not just freeing your planet, but ending the reaper war. The temple there is artician."

"Is what?"

"Artician. Look this will be shocking to know, but the truth is this. As much as I look like it, I'm not a human."

Oya was genuinely shocked.

"It's shocking, but it is the truth. I am an artician. A now extinct race of aliens who existed in a parallel universe. We were attacked by Cerberus roughly thirty years ago. The attack wiped out my entire specie except for me. I was sent here as an infiltrator to learn about Cerberus only to learn of the reaper threat to which we are targeting now. You see the reapers actually attacked us fifty thousand years ago, but we were able to push them out of our galaxy. These temples are actually remnants of my ancestor who came to this galaxy to continue fighting the reapers. Each of these temples are part of a relay system of anti-reaper network. Activating the temple will create an energy wave that will eliminate all reapers in its vicinity."

Oya fell slightly backwards and held herself against her bed. "That's-" She shook her head. "What you said is completely crazy, but... I see in your eyes that it's true. So we capture the temple and you activate it and it will eliminate the reapers on my planet?"

"It worked on Tuchanka."

"Will you help my people?"

"Yes."

"Thank you. I'll make sure your name is cleared of the tainted it gained from the Bahak situation. And my people's support for the war against the reapers."

VVVVVV

"You have the weirdest ability to make unusual friends, Shepard," Jack said as they stepped into the shuttle.

"Well it helps when you need to unite people towards a common cause," Shepard said while shrugging his shoulders.

The shuttle then left the cargo bay towards the world of Khar'shan. Even from space they could see the damage the planet suffered. Various parts of the planet were razed.

Ashley and Vega couldn't help but occasionally glace at Oya in suspicion. Oya didn't miss the glances.

"I know what you two are thinking," she said. "You barely know me. You're wondering why you should trust me. I understand. My people have not displayed the most admirable traits in this galaxy. Slavers, pirates. But we are not all like that. Many wish for a change to the status quo. That day is today. The day where we shed our caste and achieve the potential that we as individuals and as a people are capable of. I will not my people die remembered as monsters. We will redeem ourselves, and today is that day."

Ashley couldn't help but chuckle. "You know... You remind me of Shepard. A lot."

Oya leaned back in her chair and smiled.

"You sure you can't join our team?" Jack asked. "I mean I respect anyone who make slavers fear them."

"Someone has to stay behind and douse the fires," Oya replied. "But I appreciate the offer."

"We are approaching our drop point," the pilot announced.

"The global attacks have been initiated," Oya said. "They will keep the Hegemony dogs distracted while we sneak into the temple so you can activate it."

The shuttle landed in a clearing inside a forest. It was dusk. Light couldn't penetrate the forest they were inside. The crew jumped out of the shuttle. Oya scanned the area.

"Now where's the temple?" Shepard asked.

Oya pulled up the layout of the area. "According to my Intel, the temple is located inside a facility not far from here."

"Lead the way."

The forest grew darker as the sun set in the distance. The path was rough and traversing it was difficult. The sun eventually vanished over the horizon blanketing the area in darkness. By that time they could see lights ahead.

"That's the facility," Oya whispered.

In the front they could see three guards in front of the entrance and one in each of the two guard towers.

"If we take out the power and then quickly follow up with eliminating the guards, we can get in."

"Tali, I want you to locate the power supply," Shepard said. "I'll come with you. Grunt, Ash, Vega, Oya and Garrus. I want you to pick a target and keep him in your sights until the power goes off. When it does, take them out all at once."

They nodded. Tali and Shepard quietly went around the entrance. Tali opened her omni-tool to scan for the power source.

"I found it," Tali said. "Follow me."

They stuck to the shadows as they approached the power terminal that was guarded by two batarians.

"I got this," Shepard said.

Shepard cloaked himself and approached the guards. "Hey," he said right in front of them.

"What the-" one of the guards tried to get out.

Shepard appeared before them and summoned his dual omni-blades and stabbed them in their throats. He looked back and waved for Tali to advance to the terminal. Tali opened the terminal and went through its systems.

"Okay, I found the commander to shut off its power supply."

"Cut it."

Tali followed his order and cut the power.

When the lights went off, the rest of the squad immediate fired their weapons at once taking down the five guards at the same time. Shepard and Tali ran to regroup with them.

"This base will now be on full alert," Shepard said. "We need to hurry and activate the temple."

They entered inside the facility which was lit by only the emergency lights. They ran down the corridor towards the excavation site. They met with little resistance. Eventually they came across the excavation site. The entrance of the temple was sticking out of the ground.

"This is the temple," Oya said.

Shepard approached the temple door. The doors opened for them to enter.

"This is it," Shepard said as he entered.

His team followed behind.

"If this temple is anything like the one of Tuchanka, the main chamber should be right up ahead."

"There!" Liara pointed out the door at the end of the corridor.

The group approached the door which opened to a darkened chamber. Like the previous temple, the slot for Shepard's sword was in the center of the room. Shepard walked toward the center.

"YOU DARE TRESPASS IN THIS TEMPLE."

"Who's there?" Ashley demanded.

Four red lights appeared in the back of the chamber. It was large. It moved forward to reveal itself to be a reaper.

"God damn," Jack gasped.

"I AM THE LEVIATHAN. YOU TRESPASS ON MY DOMAIN."

"The Leviathan of Dis," Shepard muttered. "You dare claim this is your domain? You dare desecrate my people's temple!"

The reaper moved forward and slammed its front appendages in front of the slot for his sword.

"ARTICIAN! YOU WILL PERISH HERE LIKE THE REST OF THIS GALAXY. YOU WILL NOT TAKE BACK THIS TEMPLE."

"Everyone take positions and push him back!" Shepard ordered.

The team took cover behind some sculptures and barriers.

"Focus fire on the eyes!"

Oya popped out of cover and threw a large warp ball towards one of the reaper's eyes. The eye's light was put out by the attack. The reaper screamed from the attack. It briefly revealed the slot before blocking it again.

"Keep up the attack!"

The team focused their attacks on the eyes. The reaper charged up an attack and fired. It was a similar attack to the reaper larva. The attack impacted the team's cover and dissipated.

"Take it down!"

The team popped out of cover and returned fire at the eyes.

Jack and Oya threw warp balls at their eyes destroying two of the eyes at the same time. Again the reaper squealed.

"Lights out!" Shepard yelled while throwing one final warp ball at the last eye.

The eye shattered and the reaper backed away from the slot. Shepard ran forward to the slot and inserted Asha. The entire temple lit up and a green energy wave surged forth from the sword. Leviathan screamed as its body disintegrated as the green energy wave passed through it.

There was no vision this time for Shepard. Instead he heard the Oracle's voice again. "Find the temple. Temple of light." Green electricity sparked and connected to Shepard's omni-tool

Oya received communication over her omni-tool.

"General Oya," the voice said. "A green energy wave just past by us and as soon as it did the Hegemony soldiers and husks we were fighting either died on the spot or disintegrated. What happened?"

"Shepard was successful in activating the temple," Oya answered. "The Hegemony's grip on our people is over."

"He said the Hegemony soldiers just suddenly died?" Ashley asked.

Oya nodded.

"They must have been heavily indoctrinated," Shepard concluded. "Congratulations on the freedom of your people."

"We still have a long way to go, Commander," Oya said. "But thanks to you, we are finally free of the Hegemony and of the reapers. When the time comes, call us for help and we will answer."

VVVVVV

Shepard entered inside the conference room where Liara waited for him. Over the table was Feron as a hologram.

"You called for me, Liara?"

"Yes," she answered.

"Glad you could join us, Shepard," Feron said. "With the latest data you sent us from the temple we were able to learn more about the anti-reaper network. The data you have sent here is actually a section of a decryption program."

"Really?" Shepard said.

"After combing the data from Tuchanka's temple and Khar'shan's temple, we were able to decode part of the writings that was found inside the Tuchanka temple. After viewing your hardsuit's camera feed, we saw that the batarian temple also had the exact same writing. We weren't able to completely decrypt the writings, but some of it has been translating and found it is making references to a temple of light. I believe that if you get more data from other temples it will decrypt the information we need to locate this temple. Though we are currently decrypting what may be the location of all the temples left."

"That's good news."

"I wanted to keep you updated as to what's happening."

"Thank you, Feron."

Feron's hologram blinked out.

"Commander, you are currently receiving incoming communication," Joker notified.

"From whom?"

"Thane."


	46. Insider

Chapter 44: Insider

"I haven't heard from you in a while, Thane," Shepard said while staring at Thane's hologram over the conference table.

"I apologize for my absence but I was busy making contributions towards the war effort," Thane said is a slightly positive tone.

"How so?"

"Your fellow Guardians gave me a majority of their cure samples for Kepral's Syndrome. I went through some of my contacts to find trust-worthy hanar scientists who would be able to mass produce this cure and give it to my entire race. But the scientists were taken hostage."

"By Cerberus?"

"Thank, Arashu, no. They were kidnapped by pirates and are holding them hostage until their ransom is paid. With the war going on against the reapers and Cerberus, there is no one who will pay. I know where they are being kept but I need your help to free them."

"Alright, Thane. We'll help. Just give me the coordinates of where to pick you up and we'll head there right away."

"Actually I'm nearby the pirate base. I'm sending you their coordinates."

"Very well. We will meet you there."

VVVVVV

The shuttle touchdown on the unnamed planet the coordinates Thane provided pointed to. The planet was liveable but the climate was very arid. The area they landed was similar to the badlands of earth. The area was filled with rocky hills. It was early in the morning in the area and the sun was rising over the rocky hills. The three moons were setting on the other side. Shepard's squad came out of the shuttle behind the Commander.

"Thane said he would meet us at this location," Shepard said to his team. "We just need to find him to know where the hostages are being kept."

"They are being kept on the other side of this rocky ridge in a valley," Thane said as he came out of the shadows of a rock.

"Thane," Shepard said in surprise. "It's good to see you."

"He is subtle," Ash commented.

"The kidnappers have a small base just of the other side, but it is heavily guarded," Thane continued. "If I had time, I would have devised a plan to do this on my own, but with the reapers here, I believed it to be imperative that this is taken care of as soon as possible."

"You don't need to explain yourself, Thane," Shepard said. "I help my friends."

Shepard pulled out his pistol. "Let's get this over with."

They went up the hill and went into a prone position as they reached the peak. Down below in the valley they saw the building Thane mentioned. It was fairly small facility was just a common pre-fab warehouse. Several guards walked around the parameter of the building. The guards were not very armoured as they wore regular body armour as oppose to a hardsuit.

"Vega, Ash and Garrus I want you three up here and provide sniper support," Shepard ordered. "Everyone else on me."

Shepard, Grunt, Tali, Thane, Liara and Jack moved over the peak and moved down through the darkness of the hill in a crouched position. The guards below were oblivious to their presence. Without drawing the guards' attention, Shepard and his group reached the bottom and hid behind a rock.

"Spot your target and take them out. We want stealth."

"Yes, Commander," Vega replied.

Three whistle sounds were made in the air and the guards were downed immediately. Shepard and his team moved up to the entrance and opened the door. They moved inside quietly. Shepard approached the secondary doors that led to the main atrium of the building. There one of the mercenaries leaned against the support close to the door. Shepard moved up behind him.

Shepard stood up and grabbed the guard around his mouth and pulled him back to the ground behind the waist high barrier. His omni-blade came out and Shepard stabbed the mercenary in the chest. He signalled the others to move forward.

Thane crawled up the crates on the left to flank the mercenaries. He dropped down behind two mercenaries that walked by. Thane moved up behind one of the mercenaries and in one quick motion, twisted and broke his neck. The other mercenary turned to see what just happened only to get punched in the throat. Thane caught him as he fell and slowly lowered him to the ground. He then followed by twisting his neck to confirm kill.

Tali pulled out the knife that was sheathed on her left calf and threw it at one of the mercenaries ahead of her. The knife impaled nicely into the mercenary's head. She walked up to his body and pulled the knife out of his head. She used the man's shirt to clean the blade of red blood.

Shepard ran towards the back of the area and ran off of the wall and jumped to grab the balcony railing above. He lifted himself to see one mercenary walking away. Shepard pulled himself up and over. He pulled out Asha and moved up behind the mercenary. Shepard throated Asha forward right through his back.

A mercenary got to the bottom of the stairs and turned to get onto the lower level. Right in the doorway was a seven foot tall krogan with a large smile. "Oh shi-" The mercenary didn't have time to finish as Grunt slammed his fists together on his head fracturing it. The mercenary's death was immediate.

"I prefer more guns and explosions," Grunt huffed. "But I suppose that was interesting."

"Building cleared," Shepard said over the comm. "Going to find hostages now."

Shepard opened the doors at the end of the balcony and found the three hanar hostages. The hanar turned to him.

"Please, this one cannot- Wait. You are not one of the mercenaries," one of the hanar said.

"Commander Shepard is with me," Thane said as he entered the room.

"Krios, we are glad you were able to locate us."

"As am I. We're going to take you back to your research lab so you can finish replicating the cure."

"Did the mercenaries say why they kidnapped you?" Shepard asked.

"They wanted the cure for themselves," the lead hanar answered. "They were hired by an organization that had a vested interest."

"Did they say who?"

"Cerberus."

Shepard's fists tightened. "Of course it's them." He tapped into communications. "We have the hanar scientists. Everyone head back to the Normandy."

VVVVVV

Shepard entered inside the conference room. Shortly after dropping the hanar scientists off at their research base EDI notified him that the Council wished to speak with him. He walked around to the side of the table. The Council appeared over the table as standard holograms.

"We need you to return to the Citadel," Tevos said.

"Why?" Shepard asked. "Has something happened?"

"A lot has happened, but we are opening a meeting with many of the galaxy's leaders about the reaper threat," Velarn said. "We need you here to give your input on the matter as you are the foremost reaper expert."

"Then I'll head to the Citadel right away," Shepard said.

"Thank you, Commander," Katlyo said. "I cannot emphasize how important this is."

"I understand. Shepard, out."

Before Shepard had a chance to leave the room, Joker chimed in. "Commander you have an incoming transmission from Feron."

"Patch him through, Joker."

Feron's hologram appeared before him.

"I have a new lead for you to follow after Liara sent us the data from the Khar'Shan temple."

"I'm listening."

"We managed to find the location of another temple with the data you have provided us so far."

"Where is it?"

"We managed to pinpoint it on Palaven. Along with some additional information. You already know that these temples were left behind by your ancestor fifty thousand years ago. What we found out that there are two major stations that are part of this network of temples. There is a temple that transfers the information required to synchronize the network and there is a main control station to activate the relay. You cannot activate this network without these two stations."

"Any idea where they are?"

"We're working on it. We are very close to figuring out this coordinate left behind. It's currently gibberish, but with every bit of data you send us, it is becoming clearer. Right now we know which star cluster this coordinate points to. It's somewhere in the Exodus Cluster. We still don't know which planet or even system, but we are making headway on this."

"Any ideas what this important something is?"

"Uh, no. I can only make the conjecture that it the coordinate points to one of these stations."

"Likely. Keep up the good work. I'll head straight to Palaven after my meeting with the Council."

"Good luck to you, Shepard."

VVVVVV

To say the Citadel was chaotic was putting it lightly. The traffic around the station was thick with military and civilian crafts. Many civilians have been evacuating the Citadel for the last several days in anticipation of another attack similar to the one Sovereign committed. The Normandy had to be evasive to reach its docking bay.

The only ones to leave the Normandy were Shepard and Thane. Thane came along temporarily on the Normandy for a chance to visit his son since the hanar scientists are under military protection and no longer need his assistance.

"I hope things go well with your son, Thane."

"As do I," Thane replied. "Good luck with your meeting."

Shepard nodded and the two part ways.

The way to the elevator of the Citadel tower was choked with crowds, all wanting to leave on the next available flight off of the Citadel. Shepard had to shove his way through the crowds just to advance to his destination. Eventually he was able to make it to the elevator to take him to the top of the Citadel tower. The elevator to the top was as slow as before. Shepard paced the elevator thinking how insane that the people, who inhabited this station for hundreds of years, didn't think it to be necessary to upgrade the elevator's speed. Even the humans have faster elevators in their skyscrapers.

Eventually he arrived at the top of the tower. When the doors opened he could hear that the meeting had already started and that it was very... lively. The voices of the Councillors and several others echoed around the area. Shepard approached the chamber where the four Councillors along with Wrex, Hackett, the volus, elcor, raloi, drell and hanar representatives.

"We raloi have been active on the galactic scene for little over half a year. I don't see why we are expected to jump in this war and fight against an enemy we know nothing about. You all said the reapers were nothing more than myths and all of a sudden they're real. We don't have a fleet of ships of our own yet are expected to fight. I don't see any reason why we raloi should even join in this war and instead just stay on our planet and wait for the war to end."

"Because the reapers won't leave you alone," Shepard answered as he entered the chamber area. "The reapers will hunt down all organic and synthetic life because that's what they do. That is their purpose. Whether or not you want to fight doesn't matter. You are in this war because you exist and wish to continue to exist." Everyone's eyes were on Shepard. "Councillors, representatives, Admiral Hackett, Wrex," Shepard nodded to each of them.

"Shepard," Wrex nodded back.

"I'm glad to see the self-proclaimed prince finally shows up," Velarn scoffed.

"Have you seen the area down below?" Shepard pointed in the direction of the elevator. "It's not exactly sunshine and rainbows with a yellow brick road to guide me. And also, I am not a self-proclaimed prince. I. AM. A prince, by blood and by duty. But I'm not here to exchange pleasantries with you. I'm here because you four called me in to this meeting."

"Yes, we did," Tevos said. She looked to the raloi representative. "Representative Turdus, this is Commander Shepard, the man responsible for saving the Citadel from the Saren and the geth two years ago and is a renowned expert on the reapers."

"Sovereign and the geth," Shepard corrected. "Saren was nothing more than a brainwashed puppet of Sovereign, the reaper vanguard."

Turdus gave Shepard an odd look. "I thought you said he was an artician. He looks exactly like the humans."

"Representative, I may look human, but I assure you that I am not. My specie just happens to look exactly like the humans. An extraordinary coincidence but a coincidence nonetheless. Now I would like to know the purpose of this meeting."

"The reapers have attacked Palaven and currently occupying its surface," Velarn said. "While the attacking force is nowhere near the level that has taken earth, it was enough that the Hierarchy had to make a strategic retreat. A large portion of our military and civilians have been relocated to our moon. We have been discussing strategy in retaking my homeworld. Though might I ask where have you been?"

"I initiated a coup on Khar'shan with the help of the abolitionist movement. They have declared support in the offensive to take back earth."

Everyone there was shocked. Wrex simply grinned.

"But that is currently irrelevant to taking back Palaven as the abolitionists are currently bringing order back to their people. If I could suggest a strategy to taking back Palaven..."

"We brought you here for your input, Commander," Tevos said.

"We don't need a massive offensive to take back Palaven," Shepard stated. "You see I have found a way to completely wipe out every reaper in this galaxy."

This caught everyone's attention.

"And you didn't think it important to tell us?" Valern said in an irritated tone.

"I only just recently understood what we have discovered. Over fifty thousand years ago, my ancestor came to this galaxy and was never heard from again. Till now. She worked with the surviving Protheans, the ones responsible for the Conduit, in order to build temples. Each of these temples emits a signal that incinerates every reaper, husk and indoctrinated slave within its blast radius."

"I have witness the temple on Tuchanka do this," Wrex said. "Every reaper on my world was destroyed."

"There are several more temples left," Shepard continued. "Along with two control stations. Each temple and control station must be activated in order to initiate the network of temples to converge and blast out their signal across the entire galaxy and thereby winning the war."

"Sounds a bit farfetched," Udina said dismissively.

"We are at war with sapient constructs and your races are allying themselves with races from a parallel universe. I think the phrase farfetched is obsolete."

"You're saying there is a temple on Palaven?" Katlyo asked for clarification.

"Yes," Shepard replied. "It is likely the reason why the primary reason why the reapers have attacked in a large force. To destabilize the turian military and to take control of my people's temple. What I suggest is an attack force to distract the reapers while my team infiltrate the planet and activate the temple. If all goes well, this battle can be over quickly and the planet freed from the reapers."

"Curiously: Will this activate the network you mentioned?" The elcor representative chimed in.

"I'm afraid not," Shepard answered. "All of the temples need to be active and then the two control stations need to be activated. By my people's estimate, there are two temples left, including the one on Palaven. Once we gather data from those two temples we can finally gain the information we believe will lead us to one of the control stations." Shepard's focus returned to the Councillors. "Is this an appropriate plan?"

The Councillors looked to each other and nodded back to each other.

"This plan is appropriate," Valern replied. "We will begin preparations for the military operation. Be ready to head out."

"Yes, Councillor."

VVVVVV

When Shepard entered the Normandy Joker called out to him. "Commander, you have a guest in the conference room."

"Who?"

"The salarian Councillor," EDI answered. "He has requested to meet you in person."

"Did he say what for?"

"Only that it is urgent and must be taken care of before going to Palaven."

"Then I'll go speak with him."

Shepard walked down the walkway to the conference room. He went through the armoury, where Ashley was cleaning guns, and right into the hallway and into the conference room where Katlyo leaned over the table looking at a hologram of the Citadel.

"You called for me," Shepard said when he entered the room.

Katlyo sighed. "I believe that Udina is in league with Cerberus, and in turn, the reapers."

"That's a big accusation. Do you have any proof to back it up?"

"You know how my people prefer to rely on espionage and intel in order to fight our wars. We've had some STG agents and a Spectre look into Udina's dealings. We could not find anything direct to connect him to Cerberus, but we found he has had dealings in one way or another with many organizations and companies that are either a front for Cerberus or has made donations to Cerberus. And considering his very pro-human stances, this can't be coincidental."

"If he is a Cerberus agent, he cannot be allowed to continue serving as a Councillor."

"But we cannot simply arrest him on this flimsy evidence."

"Then we need to find proof."

"Exactly. I have contact in C-Sec who may be able to help you. I believe you already know him. Commander Bailey. He also has his suspicions about Udina and will help you."

"I get right on it then."

Before Shepard had a chance to leave the room Katlyo said, "I read it."

"Excuse me?"

"I read the report you gave us before the destruction of the Bahak system." His hands curled into fists. He shook his head. "It... was all there. All of the facts, data and explanations. All the evidence needed to prove that the reapers are real, and we didn't even read it."

"All of this could have been avoided."

"Once all of this is over... you're going to have us incarcerated, aren't you?"

Shepard placed a hand on the wall and only answered, "We all have to pay for what we have done," before leaving the room.

The door closed behind him. Katlyo looked at the Citadel hologram and whispered, "I know."

VVVVVV

Shepard came by C-Sec headquarters where he noticed how chaotic the place was. There we people in handcuffs everywhere. C-Sec officers were running all over the place trying to keep order. He went up the steps on the right and walked down the hallway until he found Bailey's office. There as well was Kolyat and Thane.

"I'm glad you finally made it, Commander," Bailey said in his slightly positive tone. "We can finally get to work."

"Hello, again, Commander," Kolyat greeted.

"Good to see you, Kolyat," Shepard said. "What are you and Thane doing here?"

"We're here to assist you in this job along with another friend."

"Who?"

Shepard then felt something rest on his shoulder and a chiming noise revealing Kasumi. "Hey, Shep."

Shepard spun around so fast it nearly caused her to trip over. "Kasumi! What are you doing here?"

"I found what Keiji found," Kasumi answered. "Which is why I am here."

"And what did you find?"

"That Udina was working with Cerberus for quite some time. This was the information that Keiji stumbled upon. With the human ambassador's connection to Cerberus this would put the Alliance in a lot of trouble. But that's not all he found. Keiji didn't know it at the time, but Cerberus has been working with reaper artefacts for several years. I was unable to get any hard data to confirm this, but I have seen their facilities. Sadly, I don't think the authorities will take my word over the human Councillor. But I'm here to help you take this bastard down."

"So how do we get evidence against Udina," Shepard asked the group.

Bailey pulled out a holographic layout of the embassy. "There are several ways to break inside his office."

"Cutting the security lines here," Thane pointed at the hologram, "will prevent any alarms going off. There is still the issue of the guards posted outside of his office."

"If we go in through the balcony area, then we don't need to care about them," Kasumi assured him.

"I can keep them occupied through questioning them," Kolyat said. "It should be enough."

"Thane cuts the security line, Kolyat keeps the guards busy, and Kasumi and I will get into the office and hack the computer. We pull this off, and we should be in and out without anyone knowing."

"I'll relocate any C-Sec officer in the area so you don't have to worry about them," Bailey said.

"Looks like we have a plan," Kasumi said cheerfully. "Won't be as extravagant as the Hock heist, but more important."

"A heist?" Bailey repeated looking at Kasumi and Shepard.

"Best to ignore that," Shepard said.

"Forget what?" Bailey said with a wink. He pressed a button on his desk. "Alright the area is being cleared. Best you get there and do your thing. Executor Chellick will ask questions if they're gone too long."

"Got it. We have a Cerberus agent to take down."

VVVVVV

Thane approached the box that contained the embassy's control. Impossible to open without explosives or the million digit code. Lucky for him Bailey was kind enough to provide the code which will be reset after this infiltration. He entered the code and the security box opened. There the security line was labelled for Udina's office. Thane cut the line.

"The line has been cut, Commander," Thane said over the comm. channel. "You are clear to go in."

"I'm just heading up to speak with the guards," Kolyat said over the line.

VVVVVV

"Got it, we're going in," Shepard said back to them.

Shepard looked to Kasumi who smiled before turning invisible. Shepard followed suit. Kasumi climbed the right side of the building while Shepard climbed the left side and reached the balcony that was just a story over ground level. They pulled themselves over the balcony and entered inside the office space.

"We're in," Kasumi said.

Shepard sat on the chair and started using Udina's computer.

"Were you able to get in?" Kasumi asked.

"Udina's security is pretty lax. I'm guessing the STG never got close to his computer. And I'm in." Shepard typed on the holographic keyboard rapidly going through dozens of files.

"Find anything?"

"I found an archive of his messages. Sloppy, Udina. Very sloppy. I'm going to copy this to my omni-tool and then we can get out of here." The console beeped. "Got it. We need to get out of here."

"I don' think you'll be going anywhere, Commander," a voice suddenly chimed in.

"Who's there!" Shepard demanded.

A person dressed in blue and white light armour immediately uncloaked in front of him. The man had slightly tan coloured skin that was covered in tattoos. His hair was black and long with a majority of it tied in the back. The man had many implants all over his body. Shepard wasn't sure if his eyes were removed for more implants or if it was some new type of visor for the eyes. The man's hands were either encased or replaced by synthetic augmentations.

The man charged forward as soon as he was revealed and punched Shepard in the face. He was so fast that he was able to catch Shepard by surprise. The impact of the punch was so intense it caused Shepard to fly out of the office off of the balcony and crash into the ground.

VVVVVV

"What the hell was that?" The guard said.

"Shit, this guy was distracting us!" the other concluded.

Kolyat immediately slammed the guards' heads together knocking them out. He rushed in through the door of the office.

VVVVVV

The cyborg man turned his attention to Kasumi. She cloaked herself with a smile. Kasumi charged forward and landed a three-punch combo to his face. The cyborg took the punches without flinching. To her surprise the man grinned and then glared at her.

"You think these eyes are for show? I can see you."

The man punched Kasumi in the stomach. The attack caused her to phase out of her cloak revealing her to him. He lifted her up and threw her over the balcony. The fall stunned her.

The attacker looked back and saw a drell C-Sec agent before he jumped from the balcony and landed on the ground.

VVVVVV

Kolyat turned around and ran down the steps to see his father.

"What happened?" Thane asked.

"Shepard and Kasumi got attacked by some cyborg," Kolyat told him. "We need to help them."

"Yes, right away."

VVVVVV

Kai walked over to Kasumi. Shepard was still fairly stunned from the attack. He wasn't expecting to be attacked on the Presidium so he didn't have armour or any of his weapons with him. Shepard struggled to get on his feet. His head still rang from the sudden punch. Whatever this man had implanted in him, made him extremely strong.

"I was told you were strong," the man scoffed.

"Who... Who the hell are you?" Shepard said while struggling to get himself up.

"I am Kai Leng," he said. "I am Cerberus' top agent. My goal is to eliminate you. Frankly, I am disappointed. Here the Illusive Man went through all this trouble to make me the pinnacle of humanity and none of it was really necessary. I just needed the opportunity."

"Damn it Cerberus will destroy us all!" Shepard said while getting to his feet. "Working for the reapers will just guarantee everyone's doom."

"Every other race's doom. I trust the Illusive Man and he will lead true humanity to a new era where we rule the galaxy."

"The reapers will never allow it!" Shepard threw a warp ball at Kai.

Kai lifted his hand and caught it. The dark energy then dissipated.

"The hell?"

"Your dark and alpha energy is useless against me," Kai chuckled. "And yes I know what you are. I know you seek vengeance against Cerberus."

Thane and Kolyat entered the area. Kolyat raised his pistol. "C-Sec freeze!"

Kai picked Kasumi up from the ground by her throat and held her in Kolyat's line of fire. Kasumi made choking sounds. "I don't think so." He glared at the two. "Throw the pistol into the lake or I break her neck."

Kolyat hesitantly lowered his pistol and then threw it into the lake next to him.

"Very good."

"Kai!" Shepard yelled. "You know what I am, but did the Illusive Man tell you why we seek vengeance against Cerberus? Did he tell you that Cerberus committed genocide against my people? Did he?"

"No," Kai answered. "But I don't care. Your race is an insult to humanity. You look like us, but you're not. I'm glad Cerberus wiped out so many of your kind. All aliens will either bow to us or die." Kai then looked at Kasumi. "Including their supporters."

Crack! Kasumi's body went limp hanging from Kai's hand.

"Kasumi!" Shepard screamed.

Shepard charged forward along with Thane and Kolyat. Kai dropped Kasumi's dead body. He crouched down and in a quick motion directed Shepard over himself and threw Shepard into a wall. He then grabbed Thane's and Kolyat's arms as they try to punch him. Kai spun and threw the two into the nearby lake.

Kai turned to face Shepard and walked towards him. He pulled out a katana from its sheath as he approached. "I am going to enjoy this. And once you're dead I'm going to kill those two geckoes and then I'm going to give the Normandy a visit to slaughter her crew. I'll make sure to make your quarian whore suffers greatly as I tell her you're dead and break her face mask. Just watch her cry as she slowly dies from exposure. I will savour it." Kai struck forward. Shepard moved out of the way by shifting his upper body. The blade glazed his side causing him to bleed.

Shepard's eyes glowed green. He punched Kai in the stomach causing him to fly back and land on the ground.

"I will make you pay for what you've done!" Shepard screamed in his powered voice.

Kai rolled back towards his shoulder and pushed himself up from the ground and landed on his feet. "I told you that your powers are useless."

"Not against Newton's first law," Shepard corrected.

"What?"

Shepard surrounded several park benches in green and blue energy. "An object that is at rest will stay at rest unless acted on by an external force." He launched the benches at Kai Leng.

The benches impacted Kai sending him into the wall across the Presidium. Shepard used a biotic charge to catch up to him immediately. Shepard punched Kai in the face repeatedly in a fury.

Kai slammed his head against Shepard's head making him stop his barrage of attacks. Shepard quickly recovered in his powered state. Kai swung his sword. Shepard ducked under the strike and punched Kai in the stomach causing him to stumble back. Kai continued his attacks against Shepard.

"You plan on saving this galaxy? You can't even save your own team."

"I will save this galaxy as it is my destiny!" Shepard then used his alpha energy to pull up the ground and tiles around him and then launch it at Kai Leng. Kai felt the full force of the attack as he was buried by the rubble.

Shepard watched the dust settle. Kai pushed himself out of the pile. His arm was damaged from the attack and one of his eyes' light was out.

"You haven't won, Shepard," Kai said. "This is merely one battle in this war." Kai threw a smoke pellet down and cloaked himself. "We will meet again and I will kill you."

Shepard rushed into the smoke to find no trace of Kai Leng.

"Damn it!" he yelled while punching the wall. The alpha energy died down.

Shepard walked back to where Kasumi's body laid. Thane and Kolyat were there checking her with their omni-tool. Thane only shook his head. "I'm sorry, Shepard. She's gone."

"I'll take care of her body," Kolyat said. "You two get whatever evidence you found and give it to Bailey as soon as possible."

VVVVVV

Shepard and Thane entered C-Sec headquarters and went straight for Bailey's office. Bailey took notice of their presence immediately. "Where's Kasumi and Kolyat?"

"Kasumi was killed by a Cerberus operative by the name of Kai Leng, and Kolyat is taking care of her body," Shepard answered.

"Goddamn," Bailey cursed under his breath. "Did you get the bastard who did it?"

"He got away," Shepard said. "He was extremely powerful and his sole purpose was to eliminate me."

"Please tell me it was worth it."

"We found archive of Udina's messages along with other data," Thane said. "More than enough to connect Udina to Cerberus."

Shepard transferred the data to Bailey's omni-tool.

Bailey looked at some of the messages. He shook his head. "There it is. That bastard. I'll round up some officers. Come on."

VVVVVV

Shepard along with Thane, Bailey and an entourage of C-Sec officers walked through the Citadel tower and got to the Council Chambers where the Councillors were discussing political matters.

"What is the meaning of this intrusion?" Velarn demanded when he saw them.

Katlyo looked solemn. He was expecting to be taken in. Shepard didn't say anything as he used his biotics to lift Udina.

"What are you doing?" Udina yelled. "I'll make you pay for this transgression!"

"No!" Shepard yelled. "I'll make you pay for your transgression!"

Shepard released Udina from the biotic field to be dropped onto the ground. The C-Sec officers surrounded Udina with their guns drawn.

"What are you doing, Commander?" Tevos demanded in distress.

Bailey then said, "Councillor Udina. We are placing you under arrest for high treason for collaborating with Cerberus."

"This is outrageous!" Udina yelled.

"We have your archive of messages, you bastard," Bailey said.

"Take him out of here!" Velarn ordered.

"I'll make you pay for this, Shepard!" Udina yelled as he was dragged away by the C-Sec officers.

"The STG were unable to uncover anything on him," Katlyo said. "Though we did suspect he was involved in some unsavoury business. You have done us a great favour in getting rid of him."

"The man was a threat to our galaxy's security," Shepard said. "And I lost my good friend, Kasumi, in exposing his ties to Cerberus. If you don't mind, I'm heading back to my ship to mourn for my friend and prepare for the attack on Palaven." Shepard started walking away. "Notify me when you are ready to attack."

"We will, Commander," Katlyo said. "And I'm sorry about your friend. We'll make sure that she is not forgotten."

"She will be honoured by my people, that much is certain," Shepard said before leaving.


	47. CounterAttack

Chapter 45: Counter-Attack

Shepard sat in the medical bay while Chakwas mended the wound on his side. She shook her head as she did. "You really should have come straight here after being attacked, Commander."

"I would have, but then I would have missed the expression on Udina's face when he was arrested for high treason," Shepard quipped.

"Might I ask where Thane head to?" she asked. "He went out with you."

"Thane is currently staying on the Citadel with his son. Though he said he would join in the final battle."

Chakwas sighed in defeat. She finished mending his skin. The cut mark was left behind, but the cut was sealed and would not reopen. "You're done."

"Thanks, doc."

The doors of the med-bay opened revealing Tali. She rushed in. "John, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Tali."

Tali saw the cut on Shepard's side.

"You don't look okay."

"It's a minor flesh wound. I'll be okay."

"What happened on the Citadel? You came back to the Normandy and then left."

"The salarian Councillor believed that Udina was a Cerberus agent. With the help of Thane, Kolyat, Commander Bailey and Kasumi..."

"Kasumi's here?" Tali gasped. "Where is she?"

Shepard looked pained. "We were ambushed right after we got the evidence. It was a Cerberus assassin. A powerful one. He was able to negate my powers. In the fight he... he killed Kasumi."

"N-No..." Tali choked. "That can't be."

Shepard embraced Tali.

"Damn Cerberus," she cursed. "What happened to the assassin?"

"He got away before I was able to make the killing blow. I promise you, Tali, that he will pay what he has done. Kasumi will be avenged."

"Commander, we just received orders from the Citadel," Joker said over the comm. "They are beginning the attack on Palaven."

"I want you to regroup with the attacking fleet, Joker," Shepard ordered.

"Aye, aye."

VVVVVV

Kai Leng appeared before the Illusive Man for a debriefing.

"You were unsuccessful in eliminating, Shepard."

"My goal was to gauge Shepard's capabilities," Kai explained. "I now know what he is capable of. I was able to leave the battle with little injuries and also managed to eliminate Kasumi Goto. The mission was successful."

"But Udina was found out to be in league with us."

"Udina has served his purpose."

"Maybe," he said while taking a puff of his cigarette. "You're one of my best operatives, Leng. I prefer failures are kept to a minimum."

"The next time we meet, Shepard will die."

"If Cerberus is to rule this galaxy, he needs to be eliminated."

VVVVVV

Shepard and his ground team congregated inside the conference room to speak with the Council.

"While the fleet keeps the reapers occupied, my ship will fly in and activate that temple," Shepard reiterated the plan.

"I hope that the temple is there," Valern said in a disapproving tone. "My people are betting everything on this plan."

"The temples worked before," Shepard said. "This temple will work as well. My people build hardy technology and buildings. They can last until the world ends."

"We will put you in contact with the general overseeing this assault."

The Council's holograms disappeared and just one hologram of a turian in a military BDU appeared. "It is good to see you again, Commander," he said.

"General Septimus?" Shepard guessed. "It's been a while."

"Indeed it has. I didn't think death would keep you down."

"Have you been briefed about the situation?"

"Everything, including what you really are," Septimus answered. "It has come to me as a surprise, but I'm willing to accept all the help I can get to take back my world."

"You do realize that your ships are going to take massive losses for this mission?" Garrus mentioned to him.

"I do, but I believe in Commander Shepard. If he says that this temple will free our world and bring us one step closer to defeating the reapers, then I believe him. My ships will keep the reapers attention will you go groundside and get into that temple. During this time, we'll draw all of the reapers around our world and around our moon into the planet's atmosphere. We need to make sure that every damn reaper is destroyed in our system. Urdnot Wrex has notified me that he will be leading krogan ground forces on the ground to take on any husk coming to the temple while you try to activate it. The temple is all up to you."

"Yes, General. I wish you luck," Shepard said.

"Same to you, Commander." Septimus' hologram blinked out.

Shepard pulled up a holographic layout of the area where the temple is located. "With the coordinates that we received from Feron, we were able to locate the temple here." A red dot appeared where he pointed. "As you can see, just like before, the reapers have dug up this temple."

"Why the hell are they digging up these things?" Jack asked. "These temples are supposed to be the only thing that can destroy them. So why make our job easier by doing the hard work of digging them up."

"We don't know," Shepard answered. "We only have theoires at this point. Maybe they want to make sure they control the only thing that can destroy them. I don't know. Hopefully when we activate the last two temples, we can finally get some answers."

"How are we approaching this, Skipper?" Ash asked.

"With the battles going on all over the place, we can't do a shuttle insertion," Shepard answered. "We will be dropping in the Hammerhead. Once we land, we get inside the temple. I get it activated and then the battle is over."

"The thing I like about our missions," Grunt said, "is the mission objective always sounds very easy, yet actually doing it always proves a challenge."

"We will likely face some heavy opposition around and inside the temple," Shepard said. "Maybe even more so than any other temple as this is the largest reaper force outside of earth. But I believe in each of you. We can do this and we will do this."

"Let's go kick some reaper ass!" Jack cheered.

VVVVVV

The rings inside the relay at the edge of Palaven's system started rotating at a rapid speed. A second after, several cruisers appeared next to the relay. Scores of cruiser, frigates and fighters appeared from the relay. Dozens upon dozens came out of the relay. Their numbers started piling up until there were hundreds of ships. The Normandy was among them.

The battle started as soon as these ships came out of the relay. These ships opened fire on any reaper ship that was within range. The Normandy charged ahead, making a beeline for Palaven while engaging the optical cloak. The frigate flew by Palaven's moon which was under attacked by several reapers trying to harvest any turian it could recover.

Most of these reaper ships were different from the class of ship like Sovereign or Harbinger. These ships were roughly the size of a cruiser and were used primarily for harvesting genetic material or subjects to reform into husks. The Normandy ignored these reaper ships and continued to Palaven. The ship went through the planet's atmosphere in the direction of the uncovered temple.

The Normandy approached the drop site. It opened the cargo bay doors as it did. Once it reached the site, the Hammerhead launched right out and engaged thrusters as it descended. The tank landed safely blowing up dirt and dust as it did.

The Normandy left the area. "We're going to join the turian armada in battle," Joker told Shepard. "Good hunting."

"Fight well, Joker," Shepard said back. He turned to his team in the tank and said, "Everyone out. We need to take this temple ASAP."

VVVVVV

The troop transports that were provided by the Guardians landed around the perimeter of the temple, half a kilometre away. Wrex and his krogan warriors poured out of them when the side doors opened up.

"Get to your positions, krogan!" Wrex ordered his warriors. "We are to stand our ground until Shepard activates the temple. We do not leave until he does so."

In the distance they could hear dozens of roars and growls. They could see a horde of monsters moving in their direction.

"There they are! Weapons ready!"

The dozens of krogan pulled out their respective weapons and aimed at the closing horde.

"Fire!"

VVVVVV

Shepard and his team emerged from the tank. In the sky they watched as turian ships exchanged attacks with the reaper armada. A turian cruiser exploded when a reaper fired its beam weapon through its hull.

"The turian fleet is not going to last too long," Vega noted.

"Then we hurry just like every temple before this one," Ashley said.

Growls echoed from inside the temple. Several turian husks crawled out of the temple. The turian husks resembled what Saren turned into during the battle for the Citadel. The difference between them is that these turian husks were less bulky and shorter than what Saren turned into.

"Husks!" Grunt yelled as he fired his shotgun.

"Liara, lift grenade!" Shepard ordered.

"Coming right up." Liara charged dark energy in her right hand and threw it at one of the turian husks.

The turian husk lifted into the air allowing Grunt and Vega to blast it to pieces with their weapons. One of the other turian husks leaped towards Tali who fired a fully charged shotgun round into its head. The turian husk's head was vaporized and the force of the shotgun blast reversed the husk's inertia sending it into the wall of the temple.

The last turian husk focused its attention on Ashley. Ashley held her assault rifle at ready. "Bring it," she dared it. The husk leaped at Ashley. Ashley rolled to her right and went into a crouch. She fired on the husk causing it to squeal. The husk leaped to attack again. Ashley fell back allowing the monster's inertia to carry it over her.

As it went over, Ashley stuck a grenade in its chest. The creature landed ten feet away on its side. It quickly recovered and roared at her.

"Burn in hell."

The grenade went off in its chest incinerating the creature. As it did, a turian cruiser was torn in two from an attack from a reaper. The two sections fell apart from each other and crash into the landscape in the distance.

"Looks like the turian fleet has drawn the reapers to this world," Shepard observed. "They're waiting on us now. Move out!"

VVVVVV

"Hold your ground!" Wrex yelled to his soldiers as he tore off one of the turian husk's head.

"There's so many of them," one of the soldiers grunted, firing his shotgun at an attacking.

"My brothers!" He called out to his warriors. "We are not here to save the turians. We are not here to fight for the Council. We are here to preserve our future and regain our honour. We are here to remind this galaxy what it means to be a krogan!"

Every krogan in the area roared as they have their strength and will renewed.

Despite the renewed energy there was still worry in his thoughts.

'Hurry, Shepard. We don't have much longer.'

VVVVVV

Shepard and his team rushed down the corridor of the temple to its main chamber. The temple shook as shockwaves from the battles in the sky and on the ground.

"I've been meaning to ask, Shepard," Ashley said. "Why do these temples have just one hallway and a chamber? It seems too simple."

"Articians are minimalist at our core," Shepard replied. "We only use what we need and no more. These temples serve only one purpose, so therefore the way to reach the main chamber is minimalist."

"Your people sound really lazy to me," Jack chimed in.

"Not lazy. My people just learned to be very efficient with what we have. We've had eons to master this."

"Still sounds lazy," she mumbled.

"There's the chamber!" Tali called out.

They entered inside the chamber. The area was dark with just the center station light up. Shepard ran over to it while pulling out Asha Bel. "It's time to end Palaven's nightmare." He lifted his sword up to stab it into the terminal to activate the temple.

"Not today, artician," a voice boomed.

Before Shepard could even search the room for the source of the voice something threw him across the room.

"John!" Tali cried at.

Something landed on top of the console. Its eyes glowed bright blue. The team could tell it was a turian husk, but this one was different from the others. It wasn't some mindless beast. This creature wore a robe.

"You will not succeed in taking this temple, artician," the creature said. "I will be the one to kill you, and my minions here will take care of your team."

"Minions?" Garrus repeated.

Eye lights appeared all over the chamber. The ceiling was covered in turian husks.

Shepard pushed himself off of the wall and stood up straight. "Who the hell are you?"

"I am one of the transcended," it answered. "Pinnacle of evolution. Both organic and inorganic. But that's not what you are asking. You want a name. I am Desolas Arterius."

"Saren's brother!" Garrus gasped.

Shepard's stance stiffened at the revelations.

"So you do know who I am."

"That's impossible," Garrus roared. "Saren's brother died years ago during the First Contact war!"

"That was a cover up." Desolas' body light up more highlighting his body in the darkness. "I lived through the First Contact war. I lead a force on Shanxi where we discovered an artefact that predates the Protheans. I learned that this artefact wanted to grant us the gift of ascension and allow turians to be the rulers of this galaxy like we were meant to be." He emphasised those last few words by clenching his fist towards Shepard. "I brought it back to Palaven to ascend my people. My plans were temporarily thwarted by a human mercenary by the name of Jack Harper and my brother who had a change of heart."

"Saren stopped you?" Shepard asked.

"He did. Saren ordered an orbital bombardment on the temple the monolith was stored in. Where is he by the way? I wanted to repay his kindness." Desolas growled while dark energy surrounded his fist.

"He's dead," Shepard answered plainly. "Saren worked for the same monsters as you did. He realized that they were controlling him and that everything he was told was a lie. Saren killed himself so he wouldn't be used as a tool for the reapers. His last honourable act."

"His last cowardly act. Doesn't matter. I turned to the monolith to advance myself further and give myself the ability to dig out of the temple without sleep or food. I have spent years in secret gaining allies for the reaper's cause. Once we eliminate you from this temple the reapers will be able to use it."

"Tell me. Why are the reapers digging these temples up?"

"Heh. Despite these temples ability to eliminate reapers, they can serve another purpose. These temples can be modified, instead of eliminating reaper influence throughout the galaxy, to amplifying it. The network can and will be used to speed up the rate at which the reapers harvest all life in the galaxy. In just one move, this whole galaxy will be indoctrinated."

Shepard was shaking with rage. "S-So that's it." Alpha and dark energy surrounded. "Desolas is mine, everyone else take care of the husks."

"Yes, Commander," Liara said while nodding to Jack.

The two unleashed a biotic shockwave up the temple's walls dispersing the turian husks all over the room.

"Open fire!" Ashley yelled to the team.

Shepard charged forward when the gunfire started. "I'll make you pay for desecrating my people's temple!" Shepard roared as he charged forward with Asha pulled out. Desolas stood there calmly as Shepard attacked. He swung Asha at him. Desolas caught the blade in his hand.

"What the hell?"

"You'll find me a little tougher than anything you've ever faced." Desolas pulled his left hand back and slashed across Shepard's chest.

The attack launched Shepard into the wall. Claw marks were left on the breastplate of his armour. He saw his armour heal back over removing the marks.

"Someone needs to helped, Shepard," Garrus yelled to his team.

Grunt tore one of the turian husks in half with his shotgun. "Little busy at the moment."

Desolas jumped and landed on Shepard. He grabbed Shepard by the throat and lifted his right hand for a strike. "And now you die."

"You're nothing but a puppet for the reapers, Desolas."

Desolas laughed. "Funny you, of all people, should call me a puppet."

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you know the humans true purpose? Do you even know who the Oracle is?"

"Wh-What?"

"We know of the Oracle and how she has been trying to meddle in the reaper's plans for hundreds of millions of years. But this, her current plan, seems to be the most successful by far. So much you don't know. So much you will never know." Desolas struck forward.

A blast from a nearby shotgun stopped the attack.

"Leave him alone, you monster!" Tali screamed while repeatedly firing her shotgun at Desolas doing little damage.

"Leave me be, insect!" Desolas roared while back-handing Tali throwing her back.

Tali bounced off of the ground twice and a large crack went down the center of her facemask.

A demonic roar echoed throughout the temple. Desolas was caught off guard and thrown across the temple. Shepard was completely engulfed in alpha energy. Everyone in the room froze in place, even the husks. Garrus was trembling.

"What the hell is that?" Ashley asked in a shaken voice.

"Sh-Shepard is angry," Garrus replied. "And hell just opened."

"Fuck..." Jack cursed under her breath.

The husks in the room refocused their attention on Shepard as they all jumped at him at once. Green spears launched out from Shepard's body impaling every husk in the room. The Alpha energy filled the husks until they disintegrated.

Desolas got back on his feet. "It looks like you still have fight in you."

"I will send you to hell!" Shepard announced to him.

"Shepard is still here," Grunt said.

Shepard vanished from sight for a brief moment before reappearing right next to Desolas. Desolas' eyes widen from shock. Shepard punched him in the face with a tremendous force. Shepard disappeared again and reappeared in front of Desolas' trajectory and grabbed him by the ankle and swung him into the wall of the temple. Shepard then threw Desolas to the center of the room and disappeared again.

Shepard reappeared at the terminal in the center of the room and watched Desolas try to get up. The alpha energy around Shepard faded away returning him back to normal. He was calm. His eyes were empty of emotion. "Your path will always lead towards torment and destruction." Shepard took Asha Bel out and inserted it into the terminal.

"No!" Desolas yelled.

Energy burst forth from within and outside the temple. Desolas disintegrated as the energy passed through his body.

VVVVVV

Wrex was wounded and struggled to stand as he fought husk after husk. He has lost many warriors by his side, but for Shepard's sake they had to give everything. A rumbled echoed in the distance behind him. Wrex glanced back and saw a wave of energy head in their direction.

The energy wave passed by and disintegrated the turian husks. The krogan warriors cheered in celebration as the husks were destroyed left and right.

"He did it," Wrex said to himself. "Shepard did it!"

"Shepard, Shepard, Shepard!" the warriors cheered.

VVVVVV

"General, we need to retreat!" the dreadnaught's captain pleaded. "We've lost a third of our fleet!"

"No!" Septimus yelled. "We can't retreat. This is our world! We keep fighting until Shepard activates the temple. Even if that means we die here."

"With all due respect, sir, I'm not keen on leaving my life in the hands of a human."

Spetimus walked over to the captain calmly and without warning punched him in the back of the head. "One, he is not a human. He is an artician, an alien from a parallel universe. And two... When all of existence is at stake, I don't want to hear bullshit about race! What race he is doesn't matter when he is risking his life for our world. He is still fighting for our world. I think our own people who are currently on the moon, scared to hell, would look down on us if we abandon this system while Shepard and his team fights on. We fight!"

"General, look!" one of the crew pointed.

They watched as one point on Palaven glowed with green. A wave erupted from the point and went around the world making the planet glow.

"Spirits..." the captain gasped.

The energy pulsed from Palaven and went outwards engulfing the fleets surrounding Palaven. The fleet watched as the reaper ships they were fighting fall apart and break down into nothing.

"He did it... Spirits, this power. I can't even begin to imagine how powerful articians are."

"I want all other ships to head to the moon and prepare to relocate all civilians back to our world. Captain, take this ship in. I want to personally congratulate Shepard."

"Yes, General."

VVVVVV

Shepard opened his eyes and found himself in the dark spirit plane. Purple mist swirled on the ground and took form.

"O-Oracle..."

"We must be brief," she said. "I don't have long to talk."

"Where were you?" he demanded with tears in his eyes. "Where were you when we went into the Collector base? Where were you when I had to sacrifice thousands of lives to temporarily postpone the reapers' arrival? God damn it! Where were you?"

"I'm so sorry," she whimpered. "I am so sorry. When I saw you after what happened in the Bahak... When I saw you break down, it tore my heart apart."

"Then why didn't you try to contact me?"

"The reapers' influence cuts me off from your realm. When you activated the first few temples, I was able to share visions with you, but not much more. With the second last temple activated, the reaper influence has been decreased enough to allow me to communicate with you briefly."

"Where is the last temple?"

"It is on Thessia," she answered plainly.

"Where on Thessia?"

"Ask Tevos. She knows."

"Before I killed him Desolas, he told me that the reapers know of you. Not only that, but the humans have a large role in all of this. What are you not telling me?"

"I-I don't have enough time to explain everything to you. You need to activate the last temple and then go to the Temple of Light. At the Temple of Light, I promise you that every question you have about the reapers, about the humans, and about me, will be answered."

Shepard found himself waking up with Tali looking over him. "Are you okay, Tali?"

"Just some bruising," she replied. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. The Oracle contacted me."

This got everyone's attention.

"What did she say?" Ashley asked.

"She told me that the final temple is on Thessia and that I need to talk to Tevos about it."

"What would the Asari Councillor know about the temple?" Vega asked.

"A lot more than what she is revealing," Shepard replied while getting up. Liara and Tali helped him to his feet. "We're done here. Let's get back to the ship."

As they exited the temple they saw all of the krogan soldiers around them along with their dropships and a group of turian soldiers. They all loudly cheered as the team came into view. Septimus approached Shepard and held out his hand. Shepard grabbed it and shook it.

"Well done, Commander," he said. "Well done."

"Just doing my job, General."

"Risking your life should never be part of a job description. Anyone willing to put their lives on the line deserves respect and admiration." Septimus glanced back at everyone cheering. "Which appears to be what you're getting right now. You've saved my homeworld, Commander. I am forever in your debt. I would be honoured to fight by your side to take back Earth. Where do you go from here?"

"Apparently Thessia," Shepard answered. "According to the Oracle, Tevos knows where it is."

"The asari Councillor?"

"Yes."

"Why the hell would she hide it?"

"I don't know. Let's just say that my next conversation with the Council will be lively..."

VVVVVV

"I want some god damn answers, Tevos!" Shepard roared at the holograms of the Councillors.

"What are you talking about, Commander?" she defended.

"The Oracle contacted me and told me that you know where the last temple is."

The asari was quiet.

"Tevos?" Katlyo said.

"What do you know?" Velarn demanded.

"I didn't think it related until recently..." she muttered.

"Tell me," Shepard said almost seething in anger.

"There's a reason why my people are so advance. Thousands of years ago we discovered a structure on our world that was unlike anything we've ever encountered. It had technology that put prothean technology to shame. The structure was perfectly preserved. We have been studying it for hundreds of years trying to reverse engineer some of its technology and unlock some of its secrets. We didn't know who created it, until now."

"I would have liked to have been notified that you had one of my people's temples in your possession."

"This was a high-level of classification. Only high level politicians and scientists even know about it."

"What is the temple's current status?"

"It is still safe and in our possession."

"Good, then I'll head there immediately. Send me the coordinates and we can get to the last stages of ending this nightmare."

"Very well, Commander."

"And Commander," Velarn added. "Thank you for saving my world."

The holograms blinked out.

'Did he just thank me?'

The doors behind him opened. Shepard turned and saw Tali standing there. She replaced her visor with one that did not have any cracks.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better," Tali answered. "Something has come up."

"What happened?"

"I-I'm being recalled to the fleet."

"What? Why?" Shepard asked in rapid succession. "Why would they call you back?"

"It's not just me," she said. "Every quarian in the galaxy is being recalled back to the fleet. Even many exiles are being offered 'an opportunity' to rejoin the fleet. You know what this means, John."

"The Flotilla is going to war with the geth."


	48. Impossible Peace

Chapter 46: Impossible Peace

That conclusion came to them as an unnerving and real possibility. Shepard and Tali both stood there in the comm. room letting that revelation sink in.

"Where is the Migrant Fleet currently located?" Shepard asked Tali. "We need to get there as soon as possible and stop a war."

"I'll upload the current coordinates to the Normandy," Tali said. "If I'm right, these coordinates are right outside of a mass relay that leads to our home system, just on the border of geth space. Shepard we have to stop this war. It could very well mean the extinction of my people."

"I won't let that happen, Tali. EDI, I want you to connect me to the Guardian fleet commander."

"Yes, Commander," EDI said. "Connection established."

The hologram of the tia'zu fleet commander appeared over the table. "Good day, Commander. What are your orders?"

"I need half the fleet to head to these coordinates," Shepard ordered as he sent off the coordinates. "The quarians are planning to go to war, and we need to convince them not to."

"Yes, Commander."

"But be sure to keep the ships cloaked. We don't want to panic them. Also bring the supply of formula QIS-V5"

"Of course. We will wait for further orders." The tia'zu's hologram blinked out.

"What's formula QIS-V5?" Tali asked.

"The exact same solution I used on you two years ago," Shepard answered. "It will be instrumental in helping the peace talk go through."

"Then the time has come. My people can finally be free of our suits. We can finally go back home."

Shepard took one of her hands. "That's right, love. We'll make this work. It'll be difficult, but we'll make it work."

"Enough of my people have died trying to get my homeworld back. Have your people contacted Legion?"

"They speak from time to time to get updates. Rewriting the geth has stopped a civil war from breaking out, so we don't have to worry about that. Legion is still on board for peace with your people. The only ones we need to convince are your people."

VVVVVV

The Normandy exited through the mass relay that connected to the system where the quarian fleet was staying in. The ships meant for battle were congregated away from the liveships, research and civilian vessels. Shepard, Tali and Wel'c, an exion operative, stood behind Joker's chair.

"Looks like they're serious about going to war with the geth," Joker commented.

"My sensors are picking up 5, 789 battle-ready vessels," EDI noted. "Three which can be classified as dreadnaughts."

"Quarians have dreadnaughts?"

"We do," Tali said. "They're very antiquated. The two of the three we have used to belong to the turians, and one belonged to the batarians. Time to identify ourselves." Tali stepped forward and opened the comm. to connect to the Neema. "This Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, seeking to dock with the Neema."

"Our systems have your ship flagged as Guardian...? We don't have any record of any organization like this. We had your ship flagged as Cerberus last time."

"We didn't work for Cerberus," Tali explained. "We were undercover to gather Intel on them and sabotage them. This ship belongs to Shepard's organization now which is called the Guardian Corp."

"Very well. Please present your phrase."

"After time adrift among open stars. Along tides of light and through shoals of dust. I will return to where I began."

"Verified. Please head to docking cradle 17."

"Please have a clean team ready, as this ship is not clean. Also I will require an audience with the Admiralty Board as well."

"What for?"

"We have information vital to the future of our people."

"I'll forward the message. You'll have to meet with the Admiralty Board on the Neema. They are currently planning the attack."

"Thank you. Take us in, Joker."

"Isn't it Shepard supposed to be giving the orders?" Joker said. "Or is he giving you that privilege outside the bedroom as well?"

"What?" Tali jumped at the joke.

"Joker," Shepard muttered. "That's pretty damn inappropriate."

"Have to lighten the mood before you head into the shitstorm you are about to enter into."

The Normandy approached the Neema and docked. Shepard, Tali and Wel'c went through the airlock. When the doors opened they were greeted by an armed escort. Among them was Kal Reegar.

"Good to see you again, Kal," Tali said.

"Likewise, M'am," he said.

Tali sighed at his refusal of using her name.

"Also good to see you Shepard. Though I don't believe we've met," he said while pointing to Wel'c.

"I'm Wel'c," he said while holding his hand out to shake hands with Kal. Kal took his hand and shook.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you here?"

"I'm an old friend of the Commander and an expert on a topic that will be brought up during our meeting with the Admiralty Board."

"Alright. Well, we're here to escort you to meet with the Admiralty Board. Luckily this time it will not be the same room where the trial took place in."

"Then where are we heading?" Shepard asked.

"I'll be taking you to the war room," Kal answered. "They will shut off all projections of their war plans as to ensure that no one outside the fleet will learn of what we plan to do. Please follow me. We can talk more while we head there."

Kal turned and started walking along with the four other soldiers. Shepard, Tali and Wel'c followed behind as they went down the labyrinthine of corridors. Each of these corridors was almost exactly identical to one another.

"I heard you all made it into the galactic core and destroyed the collectors, nice work."

"It was difficult but we made it through without losing anyone, thanks to Shepard's leadership," Tali said.

"Reminds me... I should give you two a heads-up that the Al-Jilani piece has aired."

"Oh. What have been... What have been the reactions?"

"Mixed. Though mostly positive. People just loved the verbal assault Shepard laid down against Al-Jilani. I can assure you that I'm happy for you two."

"Thank you, Kal."

"What's your opinion on this war the Admiralty is planning?" Shepard asked Kal.

"Like I said before, I don't like our odds. I feel like there has to be a better way. But I'm a soldier. I follow my orders regardless of my personal opinion. Might I ask what information you have that is so important that you need to speak to the Board?"

"It's best to wait until we meet with the Board."

"Very well."

Kal and his squad led Shepard to a door. "This is the war room."

The doors opened revealing a circular room that was dimly lit by red lights. At the center of the room was a projection of the planet Rannoch with the Admiralty Board standing around it. As the doors opened the image blinked out and the lights in the room went on. The admirals turned to face Shepard, Tali and Wel'c as they entered the room.

"Commander Shepard, it's good to see you again," Raan greeted.

Rael just glared at Shepard as he walked into the room.

"You said you had information vital concerning this war we're about to go into," Daro stated, going straight to the point. "We wouldn't be wasting our time talking to you if you hadn't mentioned that."

"We said we had information vital towards the future of your people, not the war," Shepard corrected.

"What is this information then if it is so important?" Han asked.

Shepard approached the Board with Tali and Wel'c just a few feet behind him. "It is no longer necessary to go to war with the geth in order to get back your homeworld."

"What do you mean?" Rael questioned in suspicion.

"The geth are willing to negotiate a peace between them and your people."

"That. Is. Ridiculous!" Daro roared.

"You come in here to say something so preposterous!" Rael growled.

"How about we listen to him further before we fly off the handle," Zaal chastised the two.

"I'm sure you would like to hear more, suit-wetter," Han groaned.

"If the Commander has evidence that the geth are willing to talk, we should learn more as oppose to sending out our people to die by the thousands."

"I would have to agree with him," Raan said standing up for him.

"Really, Raan?" Rael asked in surprise. "It was surprising enough to see you break your neutrality and join the side that wanted to recolonize on another planet."

"There's a reason I broke my neutrality and it deals with what Shepard will tell us all."

The admirals stared at her in disbelief.

"You were sitting on vital information and you've kept it secret all this time?" Han said.

"Considering what Shepard told me after the trial, it was imperative that I did keep it secret, but it appears he has new information concerning the geth. Just please listen to him, for the sake of our people."

"On our mission to stop the reapers we came across a geth platform which we gave the designation 'Legion'," Shepard said to quickly retell previous events. "It explained..."

"It explained?" Daro repeated in disbelief. "Individual geth platforms are barely more intelligent than a varren."

"This platform was unique," Shepard explained. "Legion has over a thousand programs within its platform. Its mission was to find me."

"Why?" Han asked.

"It believed I was the best hope in defeating the reapers."

"Wait, weren't the geth working for the reapers?"

"No. The geth actually split into two groups. The orthodox and heretics. It was the heretics that have been waging a war against organic life for the last few years. The orthodox geth just want to exist and have no interest in harming organic life."

"And you believed it?" Daro yelled. "It could have been-"

"Trying to find ways to assassinate me or my crew," Shepard finished her sentence. "You're not the first person to come forward with that concern. Legion has been a valuable asset to the team and has saved our lives many times during our mission. Through Legion we learned that the Heretics were preparing to unleash a virus into the geth network that would have rewritten the geth to follow the logic of the Heretics, placing them in reaper control. Along with Legion and Tali we infiltrated the Heretic station where the virus was being stored. We fought our way to the core. Legion gave me the choice whether to destroy the station or use the virus to rewrite the heretics themselves. It was a hard choice, but I chose to rewrite the heretics."

"And made the main geth forces stronger!" Daro exclaimed. "Your foolish and naive actions have made the geth into an even greater threat than before."

Rael glared at Tali. "And you let him use the virus? How could you?"

"I-I," Tali tried to get out. She was in shock from the anger and disappointment in his voice. "It was the best option we had. By rewriting the Heretics, we have stopped a geth civil war from breaking out."

"By rewriting them, the main geth faction has grown more powerful and will make taking back our homeworld that much harder."

"You don't have to go to war!" Shepard interrupted. "The geth are willing to agree to peace between your people."

"We can't just accept peace with them after what they have done to us, and while they sit on our homeworld," Han countered.

"You are being given the chance to get back your homeworld without bloodshed," Shepard pleaded. "The only thing stopping you is overcoming your need for vengeance."

"Vengeance?" Rael snorted. "This is justice."

"You are trying to wipe out an entire race to get your world back when you have the chance to get your world back without any more lives being lost."

"AIs a race?" Daro said in disbelief. "Don't make me laugh. They are nothing more than equipment."

Tali saw Wel'c's fist tighten at Daro's comment.

"I know that the last three hundred years have not been kind to you, but you have to let your anger go for the sake of your people," Shepard argued.

"Have not been kind?" Han repeated. "You can't even begin to imagine what we have been through, human!"

"How dare you try to claim you understand how we feel!" Daro added.

"Enough!" Wel'c roared with a volume that made everyone jumped. "None of you can even begin to comprehend what Shepard has been through."

"And just who are you?" Han asked in annoyance.

"I am operative Wel'c of the Guardian military."

"How dare you try to diminish the suffering we have faced. Our race is on the brink of extinction and yet you claim that Shepard has faced worse?"

"That he has."

"How so?" Han demanded in anger.

"Because my race is extinct," Shepard answered.

"How can you say such nonsense?" Daro dismissed. "You Earth may be under attack, but your race is hardly extinct."

"Humanity is not his race," Raan explained. The other admirals looked to her.

"What?" Han gasped.

"This was why I did not mention this earlier. Shepard is not a human, no matter how much he looks like one. He's part of a race known as articians, whom have come from another universe."

"That's impossible!" Daro yelled.

"Thanks to a worm hole in the Armstrong Cluster, it is possible for the races of my galaxy to come here. Shepard was the first of our people to come here. We came here as soon as our military was back to full power."

"Judging by your friend's eyes, I'm guessing he's not a human either," Raan observed.

"You would be right, admiral," Wel'c said. "I am an exion."

"An exion?" Han repeated.

"The exions are a race that was created by Shepard's race," Raan answered. "They're a race of, as one of Shepard's friends put it, electronic beings."

It took a moment before that sunk in for the admirals.

Rael turned his head to Tali. "You brought an AI on this ship!"

"This is its very nature is treason," Daro said. "You've been working with AIs."

"She has been working towards bringing your people back to Rannoch with another life being lost!" Shepard yelled, finally losing his temper as their stubbornness finally went beyond the point of forgiveness. "Tali has been working for me to ensuring the survival of two galaxies while at the same time working towards bettering your future. At this point, I don't care about your opinion about synthetic life. I'm here to make an offer. Nothing more. My people's government is ready to offer your people a position in the Order. The Order is a form of government similar to the Council government but it is inclusive of all races associated with it. Not only would your people be offered a place in our government, but as the Prince of the articians people, I offer colonization and mining rights of all of my worlds. The geth will return Rannoch back to you. The scientists of the Order have also developed this." Shepard held out a vial of green liquid. "QIS-V5. It's a formula that repairs your immune system. We now have enough for your entire population."

The admirals were in shock of all of this.

"All we ask for is that you help us fight against the reapers and a cease fire with the geth."

"I would like to propose a brief recess so the admirals can discuss the offer," Raan said.

"I'll second that motion," Zaal quickly replied.

"We'll wait outside," Shepard said.

Shepard, Tali, Wel'c and Kal exited the room into the hallway. Kal's eyes didn't leave Wel'c. The other soldiers that were with them had already left for a new assignment. Wel'c noticed Kal's stare.

"Is there something you wanted to say?"

"You and Shepard aren't human," Kal muttered in disbelief.

"No we're not."

"But you're an AI."

"Electronic entity or synthetic life," Wel'c corrected.

"You don't look like or even sound like an AI."

Wel'c's eyes glowed brightly and Kal's omni-tool lit up and Wel'c appeared looking like a VI model with an electronic voice. "Query: Perhaps meatbag expected an interface similar to this?"

"What the hell?" Kal yelped.

Wel'c disappeared from the omni-tool and his eyes stopped glowing.

"The first generation exions are similar to your perspective of AIs but we have been evolving for the past thousand years. We have our creators, the articians, to thank for allowing us to come as far as we have."

"That's something..."

"I'm surprised that you're taking this better than the admirals," Tali said.

"Honestly, m'am, I'm still trying to wrap my head around this. Everything I thought I knew about AIs just went up in smoke in there. I'm wary of trusting any AI, but I trust you, and I know you would not be trusting unless you had reason to."

"I have seen everything for myself, Kal. I've seen his galaxy, spoke to his people, and even fought alongside the exions and the geth. I trust Shepard and his people."

"That's good enough for me. I'm just glad for a way to get our homeworld back without a war. Now, Commander, are you serious about that immune-booster?"

"Immune repairer," Shepard corrected. "And yes, very serious. We made enough to cover the entire population."

"I've already have had the dose," Tali added. "I've been able to leave my suit for the last two years."

"Right now the only thing that is stopping your people going back to your homeworld is the admiralty board."

VVVVVV

"I don't see why we even need to discuss this any further," Zaal sighed. "The human... The articians just came here offering everything our people could want or need. Our homeworld, colonies, technology, peace with the geth and a cure for our immune systems."

"Because it seems too good to be true," Daro countered. "Suddenly he appears and offers us all of this. I cannot be alone here to think that this offer seems a little suspicious."

"All he asks for in return is that we don't go to war with the geth and support the war against the reapers," Raan clarified.

"And how do we know that the geth aren't trying to trick Shepard and us into leading our people into an ambush?" Han asked. "If we go in there unprepared, it would cause our own extinction." Han looked to Rael. "What is your opinion Rael?"

Rael gave it some thought and asked Raan, "How much did you know about Shepard?"

All their eyes turned to her.

"Shepard was completely open about who and what he is," Raan answered.

"And do you believe him?"

"Believe him? He showed me. I saw what became of his people and I know why we must trust him."

"And what DID happen to his people?" Daro prodded.

"Over twenty five years ago the organization Cerberus found the wormhole that led to Shepard's universe. They engaged in a diplomatic relation, but the articians put heavy restrictions on what technology Cerberus could examine. To rectify this, Cerberus operatives started stealing and experimenting on their technology. One piece of technology is a medical nanobot solution. In their haste they created a glitch that entered the network that these nanomachines operated on causing them to malfunction. This killed two trillion instantly. And these two trillion came back as reanimated corpses that went on to consume the living. Shepard showed me some brief footage of that. Still gives me nightmares. Shepard and his galaxy went on to fight against these monsters for over five years while Cerberus left them to rot. So Shepard not only understands our hardships, he has faced worse. We at least still have a large population left of us. Shepard is the last of his kind. He doesn't want to see what happened to his race, happen to ours. The reapers are an enemy unlike any other and unless we work together, humans, salarians, turians, quarians, asari, articians, and even exions, we will all be destroyed."

The admirals took a moment to ponder what she has said. It was Rael who finally broke the silence.

"We should take Shepard's offer."

"You cannot be serious," Daro stated.

"I am," he reaffirmed. "I'm tired of watching our once proud people fall apart like the ships we currently inhabit. The idea of peace with the geth is laughable to me, but if Tali can trust Shepard and has seen it for herself, then I can overcome my own hatred for the machines of our past." Rael looked to Han.

"I'd never thought I would say this, but if we can have our homeworld back, I'll agree to peace with the geth," Han said.

"Admiral Xen?" Raan said waiting for her response.

"Frankly, the idea of treating any AI as a person is ridiculous, but... I see where the wind is blowing and it wouldn't be a good idea for my career to vote against having our world back without conflict."

"Then it is unanimous."

"Bring them back in," Rael ordered.

Raan sent a message to Kal Reegar's omni-tool notifying him that the recess is over.

The door opened and Kal came in with Tali, Shepard and Wel'c behind.

"We have come to a decision," Rael declared.

"Which is?" Shepard asked candidly.

"We will accept your offer."

Tali's posture loosened from its previous tense state. She was more than relieved. She was ecstatic.

"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that, admiral," Shepard said. "I can set up a meeting with Legion who will act as a mediator towards peace between your people."

"Very well, but Commander, we are putting a lot of trust in you," Han reminded.

"You won't regret it, I assure you." Shepard sent off a message with his omni-tool. "Okay, a shuttle is heading to pick up Legion. They'll bring him here."

"Commander, Tali, I wish to speak to you two in private," Rael said to the two as he pointed towards one of the doors of the war room.

"Wel'c wait here," Shepard said to the exion.

"Gladly," he mumbled back. "I'll fight in the depths of hell, but I don't want to be a part of that conversation."

"Thanks for the morale boost."

"Anytime, Commander."

Shepard and Tali followed Rael through the backroom door. It was a fairly small office room with just a computer desk. Rael leaned against the wall. "What are your intentions with my daughter?"

"I love her with all my heart and wish to marry her," Shepard immediately replied.

"Tali?"

"I love him, father."

"What about your future together?" Rael questioned. "It's not like you can have children."

"I know that, but-" Tali tried to get out but Shepard quickly interrupted.

"Actually we can."

"Wh-What?"

"We can have children."

"How is that even possible?" Rael asked surprised.

"My specie's population was on the decline before the extinction event Cerberus wrought on us. Rapid decline. My people have been falling in love with those of other races at greater numbers. And our ability to modify our own genetic code wasn't some unusually specific ability for us to disguise ourselves from scanners. We had this ability to allow us to evolve faster to keep up with our environment, and eventually when we interacted with other races, we were able to mimic them allowing us to procreate with them. But the child would always be that of the other race. For the time being my genetics is human, but I can change it to quarian." Shepard looked to Tali with loving eyes. "I can give you a family, Tali."

"Shepard," she gasped while embracing him. "I didn't think..."

"It's alright," he cooed. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I didn't think of mentioning it while we were still fighting the reapers."

"It's okay, John."

"It was probably a good thing Raan told me about you two before I found out for myself," Rael said interrupting the happy moment.

Shepard still kept an arm around Tali's waist.

"I was upset at first, but I was able to calm down and I can think with a clear mind. It is obvious you both love each other. There is no reason why I cannot accept this relationship. As long as my daughter is happy, that is what matters to me."

"I am father, I really am," Tali assured him.

"When I was near death on the Alarei months ago, I only come to realize that I haven't been the best father lately. I promise that will change."

"Father..."

Rael looked to Shepard. "I want you to take good care of her, Commander. She's the only family I have left."

"You have my word, admiral," Shepard replied.

VVVVVV

Ashley was hard at work doing regular maintenance on the ground team's weaponry. This work was simple enough that she could let her mind wonder. Lately it's been asking questions that she has no answers to. Ashley heard the door open.

Liara walked into the armoury and saw Ashley. "Williams."

"Liara. What are you doing here?"

"Taking a break from examining Intel. Very rough business. Did you know that Udina was responsible for Shepard's death?"

Ash placed the assault rifle she held back onto the table. She spun around. "What?"

"Exion operatives were able to get this information while interrogating him. That was how the collectors knew when and where to attack. Because Udina leaked this information."

"Wait, wait, wait," Ashley stopped her. "I thought Cerberus didn't work with the reapers until after the Bahak system situation. What's you're saying is that Udina worked with the reapers before then."

"It's a bit more complicated than that. What we've gathered, the reason why so little of Sovereign was recovered was because Udina worked with Cerberus to acquire the reaper's remains. He was also in charge of overseeing the usage of the remains making sure it was being used in their best interest since they had a limit amount of it. My guess is over timeframe of a month, he became indoctrinated. This means that Cerberus has had reaper agents within their group for years now."

"So what is going to happen to Udina?" Ashley asked. She leaned against the maintenance table.

"It largely depends largely on politics," Liara replied matter-of-factly. "Once the reaper war is over, the Order will demand custody over Udina. They will then execute him."

"Couldn't happen to a nicer guy."

"Even though he was indoctrinated, he still gave away information that led to Shepard's death and worked with a terrorist organization for malicious goals. Have you tried delving into their history and culture?"

"I'm a soldier, Liara," Ashley said in a half-joking tone. "Not much into large scale research into race cultures and such."

"The Order has a fascinating history and culture, you should make the time to read up on them. Did you know they don't have currency in their galaxy?"

"Bullshit!" Ashley accused. "They would have to have an economy."

"They do, but it based on work merit. They use only what they need. From what I've learned from the exions, despite being a prince, Shepard lived in a home no large than my apartment. And this all works as they have zero poverty and little to no crime."

"They sound perfect."

"Almost, but they were somewhat too trusting after eons of peace. Cerberus was sure to take advantage of that. So, you looked like you were deep in thought."

"Somewhat, yeah."

"What about?"

"Still getting my head around this whole parallel universes thing. What really bothers me is how much the articians look like humans. What are the odds?"

"Infinite," Liara replied. "The concept of multi-verses is a grand concept that would be hard for anyone to understand. There could be universes where the only difference is that you decided to get out of bed with your right foot instead of your left. Some universes can be drastically different like in the case of Shepard's universe. And there could even be a universe where this is all just a story told in one medium or another."

"Okay, now that spooks me."

"Somewhat brings into question whether there is such thing as free will or if our universe was created because someone in another universe had a story to tell."

"Well who ever thought up civilization destroying starships needs a punch to the face."

Liara couldn't help but laugh. Ashley started laughing as well. It really felt like it was just like old times with moments like this.

VVVVVV

"The geth has arrived," Kal announced at the doorway of the war room.

"Let him in," Shepard said.

Kal watched anxiously as Legion walked by him. All of the admirals kept their sights focused on the damaged geth unit that walked in. Purely out of instinct most of the admirals had their hand near their pistol. It was just Xen who just watched it with fascination.

"Incredible," she muttered.

"It's good to see you again Legion," Shepard greeted.

"We extended greetings to you, Shepard-Commander," it reciprocated. "We are pleased that the creator-admirals are willing to speak of peace."

"And it talks," Daro added.

"This platform was created to interact with organics."

"I'll be straight to the point... Legion," Rael struggled to say its name. "Can we have our world back?"

"A situation has arisen that must be resolved before creators can return to their homeworld."

"Of course," Han said in an irritated voice. "And what is the situation?"

"The reapers have built a base on Rannoch." Legion opened its omni-tool and transferred its data to the center console. The holographic projection of Rannoch appeared. The hologram then zooms in on one location on the planet's surface. It showed a smallish base. "Working with Cerberus, the Old Machines were able to use some of the research from Project Overlord to create a new virus that would take control of the geth."

"Project Overlord?" Daro asked for clarification.

"It was a Cerberus project that was to use a human savant to control geth through their neuro-network," Shepard answered. "It worked, but because David was autistic, he couldn't handle being connected to the neuro-network. It resulted in disaster. I, along with my crew, disconnected David from that network and closed the project down. But it looks like that wasn't enough."

"Correct," Legion said matter-of-factly. "Geth would have eliminated the base, but a field surrounds the base that immediately takes control of geth. Only this platform would be immune to the field as it is able to disconnect from the neuro-network. If this base is left unchecked, the geth will fall under control of the Old Machines."

"What about an orbital strike?" Raan suggested.

"The base's main structure is housed under a thick blast-shield," Legion answered. "Launching an orbit strike would result in little damage to the structure. Best course of action is for a ground team to go in and open the blast doors. Targeting the structure under the blast doors would require precise targeting. Warning: Base has AA defence grid. A ship to strike accurately would require the attacking ship to fly beneath radar."

"My team can go in to open the blast doors," Shepard said. "Once they're open, I can mark the target and have the Normandy make a strike."

Legion's eye flaps moved around as it analyzed the strategy. "The plan is sound. Be warned. Shepard-Commander will face Cerberus soldiers and controlled geth during their infiltration. We would also request that the creator fleet go into orbit above the planet to ensure there is no counter attack."

Shepard turned to Rael. "Can you get the fleet above that position?"

"Yes, we can."

"Just in case, I have half of the Guardian fleet here to join us."

"The Guardian fleet?"

"They have been cloaked this whole time."

"And why were they here?"

"Precautions," Shepard replied. "A war just nearly erupted between your people and the geth. The fleet was willing to subdue ships to put a stop to an unnecessary war."

"You were willing to attack us?" Han said angrily.

"Subdue," Shepard corrected. "It would be for both sides. Our ships would be able to do that without causing any harm to either fleet. With the reapers here we cannot be fighting amongst ourselves. Now are we going to get back your homeworld or not?"

Han shook his head in disbelief. "In my entire life, I didn't think the battle for Rannoch would be fought alongside geth as oppose to against them."

"Things change," Rael said.

VVVVVV

The Normandy flew in through Rannoch's atmosphere and cloaked as it did. Shepard and his team waited in the shuttle. The cargo bay doors opened and the shuttle flew out. Tali immediately glued herself to the window when they exited the Normandy.

"Keelah, look at it," she gasped. "I-It's home."

Shepard went beside her and looked out with her. The landscape was filled with rocky mountains and plateaus. Forests covered the land and a river flowed down the landscape. The landscape was beautiful. If they didn't know where they were, they would have believed this to be an untouched garden world that was ripe for colonization.

"It's really home. Rannoch. The world I have been told stories about my whole life. None of it compares to seeing it like this. It's so beautiful."

Ashley glanced outside the viewport. "It's nice."

"I'm here to fight, not look at landscape," Grunt mumbled.

"I can admire it and still fight," Jack joked. "Still... I'm looking forward to tearing Cerberus soldiers apart."

"The geth really have taken care of this word," Liara said. "Goddess. I've seen pictures, but this is something else."

Vega looked out and just shrugged. Like Ashley, there was little emotional impact to him.

Garrus noticed the plateaus. "We should keep an eye on those plateaus. They would make for good sniping positions."

"The base is out of range of any plateaus, Garrus-Knight," Legion assured him.

"Knight?" Ashley repeated.

"Similar to a Spectre, but I work for the Guardians," Garrus explained. "Pretty sweet deal."

"We're approaching drop point," the pilot announced. "Everyone get ready." The shuttle went down low to avoid the base's radar. It landed about a quarter of a click away from the base. "This is as close I can get before they would notice us."

"Close enough," Shepard said. "Move out, team."

The ground team followed behind him as they approached the base. The above ground structure itself had little in the way of physical defence such as walls, which made it easy from Shepard's team to get inside.

"I'm guessing they were only expecting geth to try and attack this base," Tali said.

"Logical assumption," Legion said. "Shepard-Commander, we can secure transport while your team take care of the blast shield."

"Alright, see you soon Legion," Shepard said.

Legion went down through a corridor. Shepard and his team went in deeper into the base.

"You hear that?" Vega asked out loud.

The team quickly heard what he was talking about. It was the stuttering noise, they've heard many times before.

"Geth!" Ashley called out.

A couple of geth came onto the walkway above and opened fire on their position.

"Take them out!" Shepard ordered.

Tali used shield drain to take away the shielding on the two geth. "Shields down!"

Garrus and Vega aimed with their sniper rifles and fired. The shots tore the two geths right in half. The torso of the second geth fell to their level.

"Look at that," Liara said. "These geth were painted over."

"Cerberus insignias," Jack growled.

"What is with Cerberus and getting their logos over everything?" Shepard asked in confusion. "It just seems to go against being a shadow ops group."

"It's odd that you would be so confused about the logo thing and not everything else about them."

"I can understand why they are the way they are but this logo thing is just bugs me."

"We can talk about product placements later," Ashley scorned the two. "We need to get that blast door open."

"Right. Keep moving."

Shepard climbed up a ladder to get to the next level. Everyone went up until it was Grunt's turn.

"Come on, Grunt," Garrus urged him. "I'm sure this ladder won't break on you. Unless you put on a few pounds."

Grunt grumbled and proceeded to climb. Unlike the ladder at the salarian base, this ladder held.

"Humans know how to make a ladder," he said.

A half a dozen geth moved into the area, announcing their presence with their stuttering sound. Each of them was painted in Cerberus colours. Some of the geth were oddly designed as one geth had a cylinder tank on its back. Shepard's team took cover as the geth shot at them.

Jack popped around the corner and unleashed a biotic shockwave. The attack flung the geth on the right side of the area towards the geth on the left. One of the geth on the left got tackled by a flying geth body.

The geth with a tank on its back started firing a minigun-like weapon. The attacks caused small explosions wherever it hit.

"It's a grenade minigun," Vega cursed. "We need to take it out."

Garrus looked at the tank on its back. "I wonder..." Garrus popped out of cover and fired a round through the tank. The geth squealed as the shot impacted before the tank exploded engulfing it and its brethren in flames. "Way is clear."

"There!" Shepard pointed.

Ahead was a platform with a console at the end.

"The control terminal," Liara said.

Shepard quickly approached the terminal. He called in over his omni-tool. "Is the fleet in orbit?"

"It is, Commander," Rael answered. "We await your orders."

"Good. I'm about to open the blast doors and have Joker strike. Be ready for anything."

"Yes, Commander."

Shepard pressed the command to open the blast doors below. The doors opened revealing a giant hole, at least half a kilometre in diameter, with a large object inside.

"Goddess, what are they storing down there?" Liara gasped.

"Doesn't matter," Vega said. "We blow it."

Shepard pulled out his targeting laser. "Locking onto target," he said to the Normandy. He pulled the trigger and pointed the laser at the object below.

"Target locked," EDI announced. "Normandy incoming."

The group watched as the Normandy fly in and fire a torpedo at the structure below.

"Target hit."

The area shook as the torpedo impacted its target. Loud metallic squeals filled the area. Shepard and his group lost their footing from the instability of the base and fell down below. The fall shocked them and they struggled to get back on their feet. As they got back up they heard a mechanical squeal that sounded all too familiar.

A large object appeared from out of the pit. Shepard realized it was a leg. The leg impacted the ground with a loud thud. Several more legs started appearing. Ahead a geth ground transport vehicle entered the area.

"Shepard-Commander, we have secured transportation," Legion said over the comm.

"Move it!" Shepard ordered.

Ahead Cerberus soldiers flew into the area from the pit. The group didn't slow their escape when they saw the Cerberus soldiers. Shepard and Jack took the lead and used their biotics. There was no time for showing off. Shepard and Jack used a biotic throw repeated to whip the Cerberus soldiers back into the pit to make them fall to their deaths. The rest of the group provided some supporting fire to help decrease the opposition that Shepard and Jack faced.

More legs appeared from the pit until Shepard was sure all of the reaper's legs were planted outside of the pit. The group reached Legion's vehicle. They went inside while Shepard took the mounted anti-tank gun on the top. As the vehicle took off, Shepard could see the reaper fully reveal itself. It was a massive specimen. Not as large as Sovereign, but this behemoth was at least half a kilometre in length. Each movement was loud and resulting in shaking the ground.

"Shepard to fleet!" he called out through his comm. "The reaper base is a reaper! Repeat, the base is a reaper. I need the Leviathan to charge up the Pillar of Light."

"It will take time to charge," the ship's captain replied.

"Then I need one of the quarian cruisers to do an orbit strike."

Shepard held down the trigger of the mounted weapon to fire at the quickly approaching monster. The mounted gun wasn't slowing it down. It just got closer and closer until it was within striking range.

"Where is the-" Shepard was cut short when a cruiser round slammed into the back of the reaper. The creature collapsed onto the ground. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down," Shepard told Legion.

Legion stopped the vehicle to allow Shepard to make sure the reaper was killed by the attacking. Shepard watched in silenced as the dust and dirt settled from the attack.

The area echoed with a mechanical grunt followed by a roar as the reaper got right back up again.

"The reaper isn't down! Take it down! Go Legion."

Legion accelerated the vehicle. Shepard continued firing at the reaper. As the reaper got closer, it started charging up its beam weapon.

"I need that attack now!"

Just when the beam weapon reached its peak charge. A voice called out over the comm. "Let the darkness be incinerated by the light." A large white beam of light came from the sky like a holy light from the heavens and impacted the reaper and the area it occupied. The roared and squealed as it was bombarded by the pillar. The screams soon died down and any movement within the light ceased. The width of the beam of light shrank until it just vanished. In its wake was a wide and deep hole.

"Legion, turn the vehicle back," Shepard ordered. "Let's see what's left."

"Acknowledged."

Legion drove up to the hole and parked the vehicle. Everyone stepped out and joined Shepard at the edge of the hole. There was nothing left inside the hole. The surface inside the hole was completely glassed over and any remnants of the reaper were gone.

"Sorry, about defacing your world Tali," Shepard apologized.

"It's okay," she said. "It was needed and it is actually beautiful. With some rain it could make for a beautiful lake."

"In a thousand years, the glass will make for a fine sand around the edge of the lake," Liara commented.

"Shepard to fleet," he called out through the comm. "The reaper has been eliminated. Mission was successful. You may bombard the base to ensure that there are no traces of Cerberus' presence here."

"We will," Rael said.

"Commander, I think I speak for all of us when I say that we are forever in your debt," Raan said. "You have helped us get back our homeworld without any loss of life."

"It was my pleasure to help your people admirals," Shepard said.

"Now that was a weapon!" Grunt exclaimed. "So powerful that it leaves no trace of the enemy. Ha! I'm respecting your people more and more every day."

"Why don't you have that weapon on every ship?" Ashley asked.

Vega sat down and hung his legs over the edge of the hole. The glass was completely cool at that point.

"Power consumption," Shepard answered. "The Pillar of Light using a massive amount of energy. I would say the equivalent of several Asari dreadnaughts firing a full volley at once."

"Goddess," Liara muttered. "I'm guessing the Pillar of light is meant to be a precision weapon than a weapon of attrition."

"Correct. The beam needs to charge up which takes a minute or two and can only be used on an enemy that is either not moving, or moving very slowly. It is useless in space battles when an enemy can fly around the target area. It's meant for massive ground strikes."

Shepard got back on the comm. "What are the Migrant Fleet's plans now, admirals?"

"We're no longer a Migrant Fleet," Zaal said. "We now have a home. We'll get our people on the homeworld, and once we do, we'll have our military crafts followed your fleet to where the galaxy fleet is amassing. You gave us back our world and lives, Commander."

"It's only fair, that we fight for you in this war," Han finished.

"We will first celebrate tonight about getting our homeworld back," Rael said. "You should join us."

"I wish I could, admiral, but I have the location of the last temple needed to get the anti-reaper network active. We need to end this war before any more lives are loss."

"Understood, Commander. Take care of my daughter and Keelah se'lai."

"Keelah se'lai, admiral."

Shepard wrapped his arms around Tali. "This nightmare is almost over, my love. Almost over. And once the war has ended, we can come back here and start to build our lives here."

"A house on the homeworld," she cooed.


	49. The Ultimate Sacrifice

Chapter 47: The Ultimate Sacrifice

Shepard entered inside the comm. room as three holograms appeared above the table.

"Commander, we have not received word that you have reached Thessia yet," Velarn stated in an irritated tone.

"That's because we haven't gone there yet," Shepard replied. "We had to stop a war from breaking out between the quarians and the geth. Luckily we managed to bring peace between the two people. We also destroyed a reaper base on Rannoch along with its reaper overseer."

"You certainly know how to make the most efficient use of your time, Commander," Katlyo commented. "Having the quarians and geth fleets will really boast the war effort in taking back Earth."

"Though this isn't why I'm calling," Shepard interrupted. "I wanted to confirm these coordinates I've received. If I'm right, then this places your research facility-"

"Right under an Ardat-Yakshi sanctuary," Tevos finished.

"Why there?"

"Who wants to go near a building filled with Ardat-Yakshi. These people still face a great amount of fear from the asari population. Viewed similarly as succubae in human lore. To be fair, they do share a great amount of similarities. So the public stays away from the sanctuary. The STG stay away for similar reasons."

"We didn't believe you would hide anything under that sanctuary," Katlyo said.

"Where is the entrance?" Shepard asked.

"It's through a staff entrance on the building," Tevos answered. "You'll have full access to the facility. Also, someone will meet you outside of the sanctuary's parameter."

"Who?"

"I believe you already know the justicar Samara."

"Samara will be meeting us there. It'll be good to see her again."

"Though the reunion may not be pleasant, a situation has arisen."

"What happened?"

"She has reported in that some soldiers have infiltrated the sanctuary. According to her description, there were at least a few dozen, likely more. She needs your help to take back the sanctuary and facility."

"Cerberus," Shepard muttered.

"Yes, your old friends," Velarn added.

"They are no friends of mine," Shepard growled. "And I would appreciate that you stop your damn snide comments about me working undercover months ago. I did what I did to harm them further while you take any opportunity to criticize me you racist bastard."

"Watch your mouth, artician," Velarn hissed. "You need me to have the hierarchy back you."

"Do I? Maybe you should speak to Septimus or the millions of other turians who watched me save your world. Do not put so much importance into yourself without knowing what your limitations are."

"As should you," Velarn said while barring his teeth.

"I know my limitations. I will contact you three when I activate the temple. Have your forces ready when I do. The exions should be finished upgrading the quarian fleet when I'm done on Thessia. I want to take back Earth as soon as we are able to."

"Very well, Commander," Katlyo said. "Good luck on your mission."

VVVVVV

A thunderstorm had formed over Terni'a, the capital of Thessia, and its surrounding areas. Rained pounded the landscape and lightning struck in intervals. The view from the shuttle viewport was obscured from the rain.

"Our mission is more straightforward this time," Shepard assured his team. "Samara has reported that Cerberus operatives have infiltrated the Ardat-Yakshi sanctuary. Lethal force is authorized against all Cerberus personnel. Watch your sights as there may be some innocents in the building."

"Isn't this building filled with succubae?" Jack asked for clarification.

"They were born that way, but they choose to isolate themselves to protect themselves and others," Liara chided. "They are innocent."

"We watch our sights," Shepard reiterated. "We will be landing outside of the sanctuary's parameter where we will meet with justicar Samara."

"Samara's here?" Tali asked.

"Who's Samara?" Ashley asked. "And what is a justicar"

"She was on our team when we took down the collectors," Garrus answered. "And a justicar is basically a religious spectre that works within asari space."

"A crude explanation, but fairly accurate," Liara said. "Just be polite when you meet her. You don't want to upset her. A justicar will kill you if you go against the code in any way. Spectres including."

"You can't be serious," Vega said.

"She is very serious," Tali said.

"We are approaching drop point," the pilot declared.

"Everyone ready yourselves," Shepard said.

The shuttle flew in close to the ground. It then hovered about ten feet above the ground and then slowly lowered to land. The side door opened and the crew got out. They all wore helmets to allow them to see in the dark. Jack just wore a pair of goggles as oppose to a helmet. As soon as Grunt, the last person on the shuttle, jumped out, the shuttle took off leaving them in the clearing.

"So where is this sanctuary?" Grunt asked.

Lightning flashed through the sky lighting the area up and allowing them to see a fortress not far from their position.

"There," Shepard answered.

The fortress looked like a grey futuristic version of a Romanian castle. The building was smooth made from material similar to the buildings in the city, but the architecture was at least eons old. The fortress was a pentagram. Each corner was a spire with a wide base that curved inwards and upwards to create a tower. The walls that connected each spire were fifty feet tall. The fortress' lights were out all over making it look more intimidating.

"Is there any way they could have made it look more like a horror movie set?" Jack asked rhetorically.

"You sure there are no monsters in there?" Ashley asked jokingly.

"No monsters, but many tortured souls," a voice said behind her.

Ashley jumped and turned while pulling out her pistol. The figure behind he went in close and grabbed her hands quickly putting her into a lock. The others reacted by taking a step back and reaching for their weapons.

"No weapons," Shepard ordered. Everyone complied and stopped. "Easy Samara, we need her in one piece."

Lightning flashed revealing Samara in her black outfit.

"You really should tell your friend here to be more sensitive," she said.

"Are you going to let her go?"

"Of course, Commander." Samara released Ashley from her grip.

"Samara this is Ashley Williams and this is James Vega," Shepard introduced the two. "Ash, Vega, this is Samara."

"A pleasure," she said while smiling.

"You just attacked me," Ashley accused.

"After you reached for your weapon. I merely put you into a lock. Nothing harmful compared to what I usually do to those who try to pull a weapon on me. But you are a part of Shepard's crew and I am bound by my oath to him."

"What's the situation?" Shepard queried.

"I observed Cerberus dropships come in dropping off soldiers," Samara replied. "I estimate there are no less than three dozen soldiers. They were also carrying in equipment. I could not get a good view of what they were bringing in."

"Why didn't you go in?" Ashley asked.

"I have faced large forces before, but Cerberus is unlike any enemy I have faced before, other than the collectors. They were well armed and I have heard reports from other forces fighting Cerberus that they have deployed assassins who are able to negate dark energy attacks. Now that you are all here, we need to get inside that sanctuary and repel Cerberus."

"Then let's do it," Shepard said.

"Though before we head out, there's something you should know. I have two daughters in there."

"Two other daughters?"

"Falere and Rila. They were sent here when it was realized that they were Ardat-Yakshi. Morinth, my youngest daughter, was the one who escaped. I... I haven't spoken to them since I took the Oath of Solitude."

"How long ago was that?" Liara asked.

"Over four hundred years ago."

"Four- Four hundred years?" Ashley gasped.

"I can't even begin to imagine how hard that must have been for you," Tali said.

"The life of a justicar is not an easy one. I became a justicar to erase the darkness I inadvertently brought into this galaxy. In taking the Oath of Solitude, I gave up my old life. Samara isn't even my true name."

"We'll find them, Samara," Shepard assured her. "We shouldn't waste time here."

"Right, Commander. Lead the way."

Shepard moved ahead up the rocky hill to the sanctuary. The thunder masked any sounds from their movement, so they worried little of detection. Shepard went prone on the ground as he reached the top of the hill. He glanced over the top and saw two Cerberus centurions guarding the front door.

"Garrus, Ash, I want you two to take those Cerberus soldiers out at the same time," Shepard ordered. "I want to stay hidden from them as long as possible."

"Why not we just charge in there?" Grunt asked impatiently.

"Because there may be some innocents in there," Garrus replied. "Ashley, take the one on the right. I'll take the one on the left."

Ashley pulled out his sniper rifle and took aim. "I have him in my sight."

"On three. One... Two... Three!" Garrus pulled on the trigger. Thunder masked the sound of the two sniper rifles firing. The two Cerberus soldiers went down at the same time.

"Good shot," Shepard congratulated. "Move up."

The squad moved up to the entrance way where the two Cerberus troopers lay. Garrus and Vega pulled the bodies out of the way to slightly cover-up what they did. The bodies were hidden behind a fallen tree. The blood was quickly washed away by the rain.

"We go in by two. Vega with me."

Shepard and Vega went inside the sanctuary. It was relieving to be out of the rain in the warm building. The lights were all out.

"They cut the lights," Vega muttered. "Why would they do that?"

"The disguise their attack," Shepard answered. "Those helmets uses infrared, so they can see through those smoke grenades they use and in the dark. Doesn't your eye piece do the same?"

"Right," he said while sliding the eye piece over his right eye and turning it on.

"What do you see?"

Through the eye piece, Vega saw the room with orange splotches all over the floor and walls. Vega went on one knee to get a closer look at one of the splotches. "What the hell?"

"What do you see?" Shepard asked again.

Vega touched the liquid on the floor. He lifted his hand up to examine the fluid. Shepard was on one knee with him. Lightning flashed revealing what he was looking at. The fluid was dark blue and thick and ran down Vega's finger.

"What do you two find?" Ashley asked.

"Asari blood," Shepard answered. "Everywhere. It looks like we were too late."

"No..." Samara muttered solemnly.

"It's not your fault Samara. You couldn't have done anything."

His words did little to ease her guilt.

"I can still make these Cerberus soldiers answer to the code."

"Where are the bodies?" Liara asked. "There's blood, but no bodies."

"The Illusive Man was interested in having his people examine an Ardat-Yakshi's body after we took care of Morinth," Shepard answered. "The Cerberus soldiers likely put them away until they were done here."

"Then we find the temple," Garrus said. "The entrance to the facility is ahead and through the doors outside the chapel."

Shepard and his team went down the corridors to the chapel. Walking through the building while lightning flashed through the sky made it feel unwelcoming. There was no other Cerberus soldier that came between them and the chapel.

"Why aren't there anymore Cerberus soldiers?" Jack asked out loud.

"They're probably inside the facility and temple," Ash replied. "They would only need a look out at the top."

"Stay cautious nonetheless," Shepard said.

Shepard slowly opened the door to the chapel.

"I see something," Vega announced in a whisper.

"What do you see?"

"There's someone at the back of the chapel," he answered. "It's a woman, likely asari. She sitting next to the podium facing away. Though my infrared readings are... odd."

"What do you mean 'odd'?"

"I have heat signatures coming from her, but they are too high in compared to Liara or Samara here."

"Team, weapons ready and proceed with caution," Shepard ordered.

They went inside the chapel and slowly approached the crouched asari. Shepard had his pistol aimed at her. "M'am?" he called out to her. He inched closer and closer. "M'am are you alright? We're here to help."

Shepard was close enough to tell that the woman was definitely an asari. She had no clothes on, tubes around her shoulder, longer fringes and was in a fetal position. She was breathing; in fact it looked like she was weeping. Shepard signalled his team to stop in place.

"M'am?" Shepard tried again.

The asari looked up and slowly got to her feet. Her breathing was louder and raspier. The asari was tall. Very tall. She was at least a foot or two taller than Shepard. The asari turned around and faced the group. Lightning flashed giving the group a true view of the asari.

She had tubes all over her thighs and arms. Along with her fringes, the asari abomination had several horns giving it a demonic appearance and her face resembled a skull. Her ribcage was visible under her skin and her stomach was bloated. Its arms were long enough that her hands went past her knees. The asari husk's fingers were elongated and clawed at the ends. Its body had several lights on it such as over her third-eye and a light to replace each nipple. These lights became brighter as she was more active.

The asari breathed in with a raspy noise and screamed loudly. It was loud enough to make everyone cover their ears. Dark energy flowed around its body.

"Husk!" Shepard yelled.

The dark energy filled pulled Shepard inwards towards her. Shepard wasn't able to break free from it.

"John, break out of it!" Tali cried out.

Shepard's biotic abilities seem to be temporarily disabled inside the dark energy field. He pulled out his sword and swung it. The blade went right through the banshee's neck decapitating the husk. Shepard was dropped to the ground where he landed kneeling on one knee. The banshee's lights went dim as its body fell to the ground.

"Sure showed that bitch who's boss," Jack commented.

"Jack that was a reaper victim!" Liara scorned.

"You alright, Shepard?" Garrus asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Shepard replied. "That energy field just drained me of my power, made it near impossible to do anything." He noticed Samara crouched by the husk's body. "Samara?"

"It's Falere," she said. Samara picked up her daughter's head. "My daughter... What have they done to you?"

"We will make Cerberus answer for what they have done," Shepard assured her. "I know this is hard, but we have to keep going."

"I know, Commander. Falere, may the goddess accept you into her embrace." Samara got to her feet. "I haven't spoken to or seen her for over four hundred years. I only wish I could have seen her at least one more time."

"I wish there was something I could say to help you feel better, but I know the feeling," Shepard said. "You feel that there might have been something you could have done or maybe something you felt you should have done before tragedy has struck. We can't know what fate may bring, but we can try to make the best of the time we do have with those we love. We keep the memories of those lost to us in our hearts and minds and live on in their name. We can make sure that what happened to Falere will not happen to anyone else. So as long as we keep fighting for them."

"You're right, Commander. Please lead the way. Falere's burial can wait till after the temple is activated."

The squad exited the chapel where they saw the door that Tevos told them about. Shepard approached the door and waved his omni-tool over the panel. The panel hologram turned from red to green granting them access. They went inside.

Shepard activated the flashlight on his pistol. He took point, leading his team into the facility.

"Have you gotten any word from Mike or Tim?" a voice ahead asked an unknown person.

Shepard stuck to the wall and disabled the flashlight on his pistol. He signalled his team to do the same as he slowly and quiet moved along the wall to see whose talking.

"No word," the other person answered. "They haven't checked in. I'm not liking it."

"We should check it out," a third person said.

Shepard peaked around the wall and saw half a dozen Cerberus troopers idling in the corridor. He saw a room divider that was roughly chest high. Shepard went into cover behind the divider.

"No real reason to," a fourth said. "We're underground next to that temple. We're likely getting interference. If we were under attack we would have heard something. They would have to get through Mike, Tim and that reaper thing. Those damn things give me the creeps."

"They obey us so what does it matter," the sixth said. "We're here to get the data and make the necessary modifications to the temple."

Shepard popped out of cover and used a pull field to launch the Cerberus troopers into the air.

"We have been infiltrated!" one of the soldiers warned over the comm. "It's Shepard!"

Shepard fired his pistol and the rest of his team joined him in taking out the floating Cerberus soldiers. Once the last Cerberus soldier was dead, Shepard released the field letting the dead bodies flop to the ground.

"They know we're here so we need to hurry. Move!"

They quickened their pace down the hallway to the temple. With the facility aware of their presence, stealth was no longer necessary. Grunt had no complaint.

They entered a lab where a sniper round was fired at Shepard. He took cover behind a lab table as did his team. "Cerberus has deployed some snipers," Garrus observed.

"How many do we have?" Shepard asked.

Vega glanced around the corner to see four lasers sights moving around. He also saw two banshee's moving towards them Vega pulled behind cover just dodging a sniper round that hit the table. "Four snipers and two of those asari husks."

"Liara use a singularity at the sniper's cover to bring them out," Shepard ordered.

"Got it, Commander," Liara said as she quickly popped out of cover. She formed a singularity over the sniper's cover, but it was having no effect. Liara saw that their bodies were surrounded by dark energy. One of the asari husks had its hand pointing towards the snipers. Liara went back into cover before the snipers had a target. "The husks are protecting the snipers with a barrier. We'll need to take it out if we wish to eliminate the sniper."

"Ashley throw a grenade at the husk," Shepard ordered.

Ashley took out a grenade and threw it at the husk. It exploded taking out its legs. The banshee still continued keeping the barriers up. "It's still doing it," she groaned in frustration.

"Grunt, use your inferno rounds to incinerate it."

"With pleasure," he said while firing a concussion round. The round was infused with flames which coated the banshee in fire burning it into a crisp in seconds. "Husk is down."

"Quickly use singularity before the other can bring up their barriers again!"

Liara popped out of cover and used singularity again. This time it was successful. The snipers were pulled out of cover giving the squad the chance to take them out.

"The other husk seems to be protecting something else," Samara said. "But what?"

Four individuals ran out from the back of the lab towards their location. Each of them baring swords.

"Take them out!" Shepard yelled.

The squad fired, but each of the assassins were coated in the barrier.

"Grunt, the banshee!"

Grunt fired another inferno concussion blast at the banshee incinerating the abominations. But once the barriers were down, the assassins were close enough to attack.

One of the assassins struck at Shepard with her wakizashi. Shepard blocked the blow with Asha Bel. They exchanged blows only to have one another block. Shepard blocked another blow and felt the assassin really press down on him with her sword. While holding the sword with both hands, he slammed the crystal end of his swordstaff hitting the assassin in the head.

Shepard spun Asha Bel in one hand and then swung it slashing the assassin across her chest. She clutched her chest from the wound. With her stunned, Shepard motioned his left hand in a clutching motion. Dark energy surrounded her head and her helmet is crushed along with her head inside.

The second assassin went for Samara. Samara launched a warp attack at the assassin only to watch it dissipate in the assassin's left hand. The assassin swung her sword. Samara deflected it with her assault rifle. She slammed the butt of her rifle into the assassin's face knocking her back. Samara moved in and fired several rounds at close range into her chest.

The third assassin charged at Tali. Tali summoned her drone to give the assassin an obstacle. The drone shocked the assassin stunning her briefly. It gave Tali the time to switch to her shotgun. The assassin recovered and sliced the drone in two. She looked up and saw the quarian fully charged geth shotgun aimed at her face. "No one harms Chiktikka vas Paus and gets away with it!"

"Fuck-" was all the assassin could get out before her head was vaporized by the shotgun round.

The last assassin went directly for Grunt. Grunt didn't even bother keeping his weapon raised. The assassin swung her sword only to hand her hand grabbed by Grunt. "You shouldn't bring a sword to a gun fight, unless you're Shepard." Grunt grabbed the assassin's head and lifted her up while taking her sword from her hand. He stabbed the sword through her chest right through her heart. Grunt tossed her body aside. "I believe we still have a temple to activate."

"According to the layout, the entrance to the temple is just ahead," Shepard said as he moved ahead.

The security door that led to the temple was wide open showing that Cerberus had already entered inside the temple. They went through and continued through the temple's corridor.

"It's Shepard and his team!" an approaching Cerberus trooper yelled.

"Take them down!" Shepard ordered.

Shepard's advancing team fired at the defending Cerberus soldiers. With so many weapons firing at once and the narrow corridor, Cerberus soldiers were unable to get within attacking range. Eventually the team made it to the main chamber. A husk stood at the center of the chamber. This asari husk looked different from the previous banshee they have faced while fighting their way into the temple. This asari still wore clothes and her body frame was not as bony.

"I was beginning to wonder when you would show up, mother," the creature said.

"Rila," Samara gasped.

"After leaving us for four hundred years, you finally return."

"You know why I left."

"We were your daughters! You left us in a facility that barely treats us as asari. Speaking to you was all I had that made staying here bearable, but you took that away. If Falere wasn't here I would have killed myself. We weren't allowed to leave this sanctuary, ever, and we were forced to make marinades for people who would never speak to us."

"Your condition can lead to an addiction. I watched as your sister became more and more addicted to dominating other minds and absorbing their life essence. This was not a life I wanted you to have."

"But those are my choices aren't they? Either stay here for the rest of my life or become a beast. Thanks to the reapers, I now have a third option. To rule over others. The reapers like that Ardat-Yakshi have an apt ability to dominate minds. My sisters were not strong enough to accept the gifts of the reapers, but I was. I will begin my role as the avatar of the reapers and dominate the minds of the enemies of the reapers."

"The reapers are just using you, Rila! You have to stop this." Samara pleaded.

"She's not your daughter anymore, Samara," Shepard said. "You will not stand in our way, Rila. Stand aside and let us activate this temple."

"I will not let you go against my masters," Rila told him.

"The reapers don't care about you. They are using you to fulfill their goals, Rila. You are nothing more than a tool to them."

"Funny that you of all people would say that, artician."

"What do you mean? Desolas said the same thing."

"It doesn't matter as each of you will become slaves of the reapers." Rila's eyes glowed purple. "Embrace death."

Everyone fell to their knees as the asari exerted her will on them. Shepard crawled forward towards Rila.

"Stop trying to resist, artician. It will be much easier."

"No," Shepard grunted. Alpha energy surrounded his body. "I refuse to give in."

Rila watched as the alpha energy from Shepard's body connected to each member of his team. The energy surrounded their bodies and allowed each of them to get back up to their feet.

"That's not possible..."

"I will not stop fighting until every single one of the reapers has been destroyed!" Shepard charged forward and stabbed her in the stomach with his sword. "I am sorry for the life you had, but the reapers are not the way."

Rila choked as she bled internally. "The- The reapers told me many things... Secrets." The alpha energy flowed off of the sword and started eating away her body. "Tell me, artician. Do you really think it's a coincidence that the humans look like your people?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Shepard demanded. "Tell me!"

Rila laughed. Before her body completely disintegrated she said, "Ask the Oracle." The powder remains of her body drifted to the floor and fell into a pile of ash.

Samara walked up to the ash remains. "Be at peace with the goddess, Rila."

"What was she talking about, Shepard?" Ashley asked.

"I don't know," Shepard answered. "All I know is that I'm going to have a damn long conversation with the Oracle when we get to the temple of light."

Shepard approached the center of the chamber and inserted Asha Bel into the slot. As he did, the group heard more banshees approaching their position from down the corridor. They could see the light glimmer in the hallway as they ran and scream. An energy wave came forth from the pedestal. It went through the walls and ground. They saw the banshees turn to dust as the energy wave passed through them.

Shepard pulled his sword from the pedestal and sighed with relief. "It is done." He held his omni-tool to the pedestal and allowed the information to transfer to his omni-tool. Shepard held his omni-tool in front of his chest and looked to his crew. "With this information we can find the temple of life and initiate the final stages of eliminating the reapers." Shepard walked up to Samara and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I am sorry for your loss."

"Thank you, Commander."

"If there is anything I could do for you, just let me know."

"If you would have me, Commander, I would like to rejoin your team."

"I would be honoured to have you back in our team again, Samara."

"I'll send the information to Feron so we can get the location of the temple of light, Shepard," Liara said.

"Alright," Shepard said. "Everyone back to the ship and prepare yourselves. Once we're done at the temple of light, we'll be making the assault on earth."

VVVVVV

As this would be the last bit of knowledge they needed to find the temple of light, everyone on Shepard's team was in the comm. room waiting for Feron to give them the location. His hologram stood above the table.

"Do we have a location?" Shepard asked him.

"We do," Feron answered. "It's incredible, your people took into account fifty thousand years of planets shifting their location."

"Location, Feron," Liara reminded him.

"Right, right. The planet is Klencory. The coordinates are in the Normandy's systems. I did some digging into and found some interesting information about this planet. There's a volus billionaire by the name of Kumun Shol excavating there."

"What for?" Shepard asked.

"This is the interesting part. He claims he had a vision of a higher being telling him to seek the 'lost crypt of beings of light'. Beings born at the beginning of time to protect organic life from synthetic 'machine devils.' Sounds familiar?"

"The reapers," Garrus thought aloud.

"And the higher being has to be the Oracle," Tali concluded.

"This isn't the first time that the Oracle has communicated with someone of this galaxy," Shepard said.

"I have already contacted Shol and got him to allow you access to the temple he dug up," Feron said. "In fact, when I told him who you actually were, he was more than enthused to give you access. Or as he said, 'an... qush... honour.' His mercenaries set up a landing pad for your shuttle and he'll be waiting there."

"Thank you, Feron."

"Anytime, Commander. And good luck." Feron's hologram blinked out.

"Joker, I want you to set a course for the coordinates that Feron set," Shepard ordered over the ship's comm.

"Aye, aye," he replied.

"Time to destination with warp drive will be ten minutes," EDI announced.

"Make it so," Shepard said.

VVVVVV

The shuttle flew in through the planet's atmosphere. The landing pad was obvious as it was the only structure in the valley in the center of a large rocky mountain range. Everyone inside of the shuttle wore protective gear as the surface of the planet is very toxic and freezing.

As the shuttle approached the landing pad, Shepard could see Shol waiting at the base of the stairs. The shuttle landed and the doors opened. The team stepped out and went down the stairs towards Shol. The volus bowed as Shepard approached.

"It is... qush... kesh... an honour to have you here, my lord," he greeted. "We have uncovered the entrance to the temple, but the doors will not open. It has some sort of slot that may be a keyhole of sorts."

"I have the key right here," Shepard said while pulling out Asha Bel. "Can you take us to the entrance?"

"Of... qush... kesh... course. Follow me."

The volus turned and walked towards the cave just ahead. "Since the Oracle came to me I have been hard at work... qush... kesh... trying to uncover the temple. Many thought I was crazy... qush... kesh... But the machine qush... kesh... devils are here now. And you... qush... kesh... a being of light are here... qush... kesh... to save us."

"I appreciate everything you have done for our cause," Shepard said. "I ensure your name is remember for your efforts."

"qush... kesh... Thank you."

It was a short walk through the cave tunnel before they reached the temple door.

"This... qush... kesh... is it."

The doorway was a similar design to the other temples before. In the center of the two doors was a slot for Shepard's sword. He placed the blade inside, turned the slot and pulled the sword back out. A squealing sound came from the door and it slid apart.

"Finally a chance to... qush... kesh... see the inside."

Shepard walked through the doorway. Before anyone else could join him the doors slammed shut.

"John, are you there?" Tali called him through her omni-tool. "Are you okay?"

"I'm here and I'm fine," Shepard replied. "I can't seem to get the doors to open again. It looks like I'll be heading forward and activating this temple. Just wait there and I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Alright. Don't be long."

The chamber had featureless walls unlike the previous temples. A pillar of light highlighted the pedestal in the center. Shepard approached the pedestal and inserted Asha Bel into its respective slot. Alpha energy surrounded the sword. The energy struck Shepard and he was lifted into the air. Everything went black.

Shepard opened his eyes and found himself back in the spirit plane. Ahead he saw the Oracle form in front of him.

"You have finally done it," she said. "You have activated the relay system. All you have left to do is the activate the control station-"

"Stop!" Shepard said in a firm tone. "Before anything else, I want the truth. I want to know everything that you've been hiding from me. I want my questions answered. No more riddles or dancing around the issue."

"Very well. After everything you have been through, you deserve all of your answers to be answered."

"Who and what are you really?" he demanded. "What is your connection to the reapers? What do the humans have to do with anything?"

"I am part of the very first race that inhabited this galaxy," she answered. "I am also... I'm also the one responsible."

"Responsible for what?"

"I was the one who created the reapers."

Shepard was speechless at that revelation. "W-Why? Why did you create those abominations?" Shepard demanded in anger.

"To answer that I must reveal much more to you. I must show you what I really am." The Oracle's purple form started to change to be less like a spirit and more like a living being. Bright light emitted from her form as she did. The light soon became too much for Shepard to look at so he covered his eyes. He held up his arm to blot out the light. Soon the light died down and Shepard could finally see what the Oracle really looks like.

Upon removing his arm, Shepard could only gaze in horror at the Oracle's form and muttered in shock, "No... That's not... That's not possible."

"I am artician," the Oracle declared. She was fair skin with pure black hair and indigo eyes.

"The articians are responsible for the reapers?" His very psyche was on the brink of ruin from this revelation.

"Not as a whole, no," she answered. "Please listen, my lord, and I will explain. This universe, this galaxy is an alternate future of your own. I no longer remember my name, but I remember the events that led to our destruction. Over a billion years ago, the Artician Empire was at its apex of its glory. There was peace throughout the galaxy among your people and the people of the galaxy. You served as king, Jon'ison Tivos."

"How was this peace disturbed?"

"A new evolutionary trait. An artician developed a new power that was the opposite of what any tiven'vian has ever been capable of using. Omega energy manipulation. I can't remember the individuals name or even if it was a man or woman, but I do know the name that being now goes by."

"Harbinger."

"Yes. This individual saw their power as reason for them to take over the artician empire and direct down a new pathway to continue their evolution. While alpha energy can be used to heal and protect, omega energy was used to destroy and dominate. That is what indoctrination is. The use of omega energy to dominate minds, change them. Harbinger's followers grew quickly in number as more minions were added to its army. War eventually broke out that span the entire galaxy and lasted several hundred years, killing billions. This army, that strived for ascension to higher beings, struck a deadly blow against the forces of good, when they assassinated your queen thus killing you as well."

"I was killed...?"

"Yes. Without your direction and inspiration, the war quickly turned in favour of Harbinger. The forces that opposed Harbinger turned desperate and turned to me: a science officer. I was tasked with creating a weapon that would win us the war. But things didn't go as planned."

"This vision after earth," Shepard muttered.

"I was trying to give you more information about the reapers, but their arrival prevented me from doing more. I was that woman in the vision. You can see that Cerberus now sports armoury similar to what Harbinger's forces equipped."

"What type of weapon were you trying to create?"

"I was trying to create a ship that would fuse many of our people together so they could act as one will creating an army that was purely focused. Research that was forbidden under your rule, but again we were desperate to win. Harbinger learned of my research and dispatched a team to capture me. They took me to their base to continue my work. I-I didn't want to but his indoctrination wouldn't allow me to deny Harbinger's orders. I was a slave to his goals. Eventually my research finished and Harbinger had exactly what it wanted. Unity under one will. The remainder of the galaxy was broken down into the genetic paste that would create the reaper ships for his army."

"If the reaper ships were created using artician technology why don't they have a warp drive?"

"That technology was all but destroyed during the war. Harbinger wanted another way to power his ships and to allow FTL travel. Element zero was the answer. As a reward for what I have done, or punishment for my sins, I was added into the second reaper that was created: Sacrosanct. My mind and soul was trapped in that abomination for hundreds of millions of years. For all intents and purposes I was stuck in hell."

"How did you escape?"

"You have already visited the reaper that I was once a part of," she said. "Over 37 million years ago, a race put up a good fight against the reapers. They created a weapon that crippled the reaper I was trapped in. The section that the round destroyed was where my essence was stored. I was freed but the other beings stayed trapped there for millions of years. At least until you destroyed the reaper by sending it into the brown dwarf. You put millions of souls to rest when you did that. After I was freed, it took thousands of years for me to regain my sanity from being trapped within the reaper. But once I did, I worked to seek redemption for what I have done. I've tried for million years trying to get this galaxy to listen to my warnings, but as I have said before, they went unheard, or I was listened to too late. Eventually I discovered a wormhole that connected to your universe. Imagine my surprise when I find it goes to an mirror universe in an alternate past."

"What do the humans have to do with anything?" Shepard asked. "Rila on Thessia said that it isn't coincidence that they look like articians."

"She is correct. The humans were part of a long term plan. A plan that is close to two million years old. Getting an entire race to fight back against an enemy that they have never seen is impossible. Every race always progressed at a certain rate and is usually around the same level of technology when the reapers do arrive. The reapers planned on this. They wanted order in terms of how each race progresses. Disorder had to be injected into their formula. With samples I have had members of this galaxy acquire from your race two million years ago, I led scientists on a mission to try and recreate the articians in this galaxy. The lab for our experiment was earth. We found primates similar to our own ancestors and we believed them to be suitable test subjects towards controlling their evolution. It was a success and a failure at the same time. Without constant control, their evolution quickly deviated from the pathway toward artician in the tens of thousands of years in between check-ups. Biggest factor that changed their evolutionary pathway was the climate of earth. It was too moderate in climate in comparison to Artice. This resulted in a specie that's just related to the artician specie as oppose to being artician."

"Then the vision I received on that one mission on Eletania..."

"Was the protheans fulfilling my goals. While we failed to recreate the articians, we were successful in creating a race that changed much in the universe. Humans have the same restless nature as your race does. Technology has changed rapidly and new perspectives gained. Though even this was not enough. So with the last surviving members of the protheans and the last Tiven'Vian, we constructed a plan to wipe out the reapers once and for all. They created a network of temples which emits alpha energy. The same type of energy that can negate omega energy. This would cause the reapers to fall apart. Once all temples are activated the Citadel and master control station on earth can be activated to spread this energy throughout the galaxy."

"What does the Citadel have to do with this?"

"The Keepers were not the only thing modified on the Citadel. With my help and the last Tiven'Vian, the protheans modified the Citadel would have as a concentrator for the signal that would be emitted from earth's master control temple. This signal would coordinate the temples around the galaxy to go off all at the same time. This has to be done within a nanosecond of precision or else certain parts of the galaxy can remain untouched by the signal leaving the possibility of reaper taint being left behind."

"Why is the master control temple on earth of all places?"

"Two reasons. We had to ensure that it would be well defended, and knowing the nature of articians and humans, I knew that humans would put up a large enough fights against the reapers that it would delay their search."

"And the second?"

"We had to concentrate the reapers as best we could to make sure that they are wiped out when the network is activated. We knew that humans would be of interest to the reapers."

"So you used the humans as bait?" Shepard said in disgust.

"Millions are sacrificed in order to save trillions. I don't like it any better than you, but we had no choice. All we can do is ensure that their sacrifices are not in vain."

"How do we activate the Citadel?"

"In the room next to the one you are currently in is the last surviving member of the prothean race. He has been tasked to activating the Citadel to put it into orbit around earth."

"Another prothean?"

"Yes. Not like the collectors, as he has not been touched by the reaper's experimentations."

"And how do I activate the master control temple on earth and where is it?"

"The temple is located under the city which the humans call London, England. This temple will supply you the exact coordinates of the temple. But there is something else you should know. When you insert Asha Bel into the pedestal in the master control temple, it will drain you of all your essence. Each temple you have encountered mostly drained your stamina. This temple will be different in that it requires your body and soul to activate its vast power."

"Then why allow me to love?" he demanded. "If I am destined to die to end the reapers why allow me to love another? Why?"

"You deserve some comfort before you die."

"I was better off not loving at all! It just seems so damn typical. I don't have a happy life and now I won't even get a happy ending to my story. I'll just die and that will be the end of that. Though even my death will damn me to the void as my soul will be destroyed by this machine." Shepard fell to his knees and screamed in pain. "Damn it!"

The Oracle walked up and tried to put a hand on his shoulder. Shepard smacked it away and got to his feet. She could see the tears in his eyes.

"I will fulfill my duty as a Tiven'Vian. I will save this galaxy, but... I never want to see you again."

"My lord..."

"Go! Leave me!"

"I am truly sorry..." These were her last words before she faded from his sight.

Shepard found himself inside the same featureless room. He was on his knees and felt tears run down his cheeks. Shepard willed himself to his feet and approached a section of wall that started to shift as soon as he was conscious of his surroundings. When the door opened up fully, he entered the room. The room was blocky and grey, with each block stacked in an uneven order. In the center of the room is a structure, like the walls of the room, consisted of blocks. As oppose to the gray colour of the walls, this structure glowed orange. It was tripod shaped with one support structure that connected to the ceiling. In the center of the structure was a orange and red sphere with the silhouette of someone inside.

As Shepard approached the sphere, the sphere lowered to the ground. He touched the sphere and it vanished revealing its occupant. The first thought that came to Shepard's mind was that the original protheans looked nothing like the collectors. The prothean before him looked like the statues he saw before on Ilos.

The prothean struggled to get his footing. He was still woozy from being in stasis for close to fifty thousand years. The prothean opened his eyes and looked at Shepard. He stared at him as his eyes adjusted. Finally the prothean could see Shepard clearly. He stood up straight, bowed his head and greeted, "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, artician. I am Jarvic."


	50. Redemption

Chapter 48: Redemption

"Are you aware what must be done?" Shepard asked the prothean.

"My body may have been in stasis, but the Oracle has been keeping me informed of current events," Jarvis replied. His eyes wondered to Shepard's sword. "So that's Asha Bel. Mind if I quickly have a look?"

"Here," Shepard said while handing him the sword.

Jarvic held the sword in his hands. He appeared to be focused on the sword. "This sword has seen a lot of death. Good. Means that you don't let anything get in your way."

"How would you know how much death this blade has seen?"

"It told me."

"It told you?" Shepard repeated in confusion.

"All matter is nothing more than information. My people can read that information. This sword has seen much combat. Many wins and some losses. Here." Jarvic handed Shepard's sword back to him. "We have much work to do and little time."

Shepard started walking back to the entrance of the temple with Jarvic.

"What will you be doing?" Shepard asked him.

"I will be activating the Citadel's systems while you activate the temple on Earth."

"Couldn't anyone activate the Citadel's systems?" Shepard asked.

"This system was created by me to be used only by me," he answered. "A safety precaution I worked out with the Oracle to ensure no one tampers with it. All you need to do is bring me to the Citadel. Not to mention that I will have to make a sacrifice, just like you."

"It will kill you as well?"

"Yes. I don't like it, but I want vengeance for what the reapers did to my specie."

"Will the Citadel need to be evacuated?"

"Most definitely. I need to activate several stages in its systems. The first is the realignment of its arms. The second is to send it through a wormhole to get it to Earth. And the third is to connect it to Earth's temple once it is activated."

"Sounds simple enough."

"It was designed to be fast. We don't want to give the reapers the chance to destroy the Citadel before it activates." There was an air of arrogance to his voice. "Though tell me, artician. How does it feel to know that your specie is responsible for creating these monsters?"

Shepard grabbed him by the next and slammed him against the wall. "Had I been alive in this galaxy, I would never allowed these experiments in the first place. They were done by a scientist who has forgotten everything that made us who we arm. By her actions, she can no longer be considered a member of my race. The same goes for Harbinger, so don't you dare blame my specie for the actions of a few." He released Jarvic's throat.

"Understood," he said calmly.

"We'll head back to the Citadel where we will drop you off to get you started on the Citadel's systems. I'll meet with the Council to tell them to mobilize the fleet."

They arrived at the temple's entrance. With everything activated, the temple's doors opened revealing Shepard's team waiting there.

"You're done in there, Shepard?" Garrus asked.

"The temple has been activated," Shepard answered.

"That's good to hear, Commander," Ash said.

Just then Jarvic walked out of the temple behind Shepard. Everyone stared at him.

"Who the hell is that?" Vega thought out loud.

"Everyone, this is Jarvic," Shepard announced. "He's a prothean."

"A-A prothean?" Liara gasped. "By the goddess!" She quickly approached him. "I'd never thought I would see a prothean up close and-"

"Could you tell the asari to back away?" Jarvic asked Shepard.

"She's just excited," Shepard said.

"It's an annoyance," he scoffed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to irritate you," Liara said. "It's just that I have been studying your specie for my entire life. I never thought I would see a living prothean in person."

"Now you have. I would appreciate that we leave this world and get to the Citadel as soon as possible."

"Wait, if he's a prothean, why doesn't he look like a bug instead of a squid face?" Jack asked.

"Those bugs were genetically engineered clones of my people," Jarvic corrected her. "And the squid face commented is amusing come from a skinny hairless ape."

Jack glowed blue and bared her teeth. "Why you, bastard!"

"Jack, calm down!" Shepard quickly stopped her from attacking. "I don't need you to likw him, but I need you to not kill him. He is needed to activate the network."

"Just keep him away from me."

"That is preferable," Jarvic said.

"Let's leave everyone," Shepard said. "I'll explain on the ship what must be done to end the reapers once and for all."

"But there is a way?" Tali asked.

"There is." Shepard looked to Shol and said, "Thank you for uncovering this temple."

"It was... qush... kesh... my pleasure, Artice-clan. Anything to... qush... kesh... stop the devil-machines."

VVVVVV

Everyone went straight into the comm. room when they returned to the Normandy. Even Joker and EDI were in attendance at the meeting.

"So what's the plan, Commander?" Vega asked. "How do we defeat the reapers?"

"There's a temple on Earth that activates the entire network of temples," Shepard answered. "Jarvic's job is to activate a secret system within the Citadel which will transport it to Earth's orbit. Once I activate the temple on Earth, the signal and energy field will travel through the Citadel and activate the other temples all at the same time. This will create an energy wave that will travel throughout the entire galaxy wiping out every trace of the reapers and their influence."

"That's great news," Tali said. "We activate the Earth's temple while the galactic fleet distracts the reapers and we win."

"Why not you tell them about the reapers, Commander?" Jarvic reminded him. "After everything, they've been through they deserve to know the true origin of the reapers."

"What is he talking about, Shepard?" Ash asked.

Shepard leaned against the table and released a breath. "A lot. The truth is this. This galaxy, this universe, is an alternate future of my universe."

"By the goddess," Samara gasped.

"Humans were actually genetically engineered by a variety of races over a couple million years in order to recreate articians in this galaxy who are completely extinct. Though due to a variety of factors, humans are only partially related to articians. That's not all. The Oracle finally revealed the truth to me, and that is that not only was she the one who created the reapers, she's an artician."

"So your race is responsible for creating the reapers!" Ash accused.

"Not my entire race," Shepard defended himself. "It's much more complicated than what you may think."

"Then explain it to us," Jack said. Her voice was calmer than Ash. "I trust you, Commander, so just explain it to us."

"In this universe, an artician developed a new ability that made him different than anyone of my race, but still extremely powerful. He was able to manipulate Omega energy. This energy corrupts anything it comes in contact with. It is where the indoctrination ability comes from. With this power, he started a war with my people. This war engulfed the entire galaxy. During this war, I was killed when my wife of this universe was murdered. This turned the war in favour of Harbinger, the rogue artician. The Oracle was a scientist who was working towards a weapon that could be used against Harbinger. In desperation, she found a way to turn people's essences into a ship."

"The reapers," Vega said.

"Yes. She was captured by Harbinger's allies and indoctrinated to serve him. Once her work was completed, she had her essence fused into the second reaper created. She was trapped in that reaper until it was shot and killed 37 million years ago. That reaper we boarded to get the IFF was the reaper that she was contained in. The Oracle has spent all that time trying to help this galaxy destroy the reapers. That is the entire truth of the reapers."

"That's it?" Garrus asked.

"That's it."

"Then I don't see a problem with your people," he said.

"I agree," Tali said. "This is surprising. But I know your people, and I know they would not stand for these reapers. The only one to blame is Harbinger. I'm sure everyone here agrees. Right?"

Everyone around the table nodded in agreement. Even Ashley reluctantly nodded.

"We followed into hell and back, Commander," Joker said. "We're not giving up on you now."

"You people can't honestly be serious?" Jarvic asked in confusion. "This man's race created the reapers. They are responsible for hundreds of trillions of lives being destroyed and all of you nod along like mindless puppets."

"Not mindless puppets but good friends," Samara corrected. Her voice barely contained the annoyance she felt towards Jarvic.

"And warriors," Grunt added. "I'm not backing away from a good fight alongside a good warrior. I would warn you to stop criticizing my battlemaster."

"Anyways it's not Shepard's people who created the reapers," Tali explained. "His people are gone. Even in this galaxy, it wasn't his people but the actions of the few."

"Unbelievable," Jarvis yelled. "You people are completely unbelievable!"

"What the hell is your problem with Shepard?" Jack demanded.

"I currently stand next to a member of a race that is responsible for so much death. My people were wiped out because of his race."

"Your race was wiped out by a few assholes," Jack said. "I know enough about grudges to know that your anger is misdirected. You're blaming an entire race for something a few do. I don't know about you but that is fucked up."

"I, uh," Jarvic tried getting out before stopping himself. "Damn it. You're, uh... You're right. I-I'm sorry, Commander. I was out of line."

"Apology accepted, as long as we can focus back on the task at hand," Shepard said. "We are currently heading to the Citadel where we can get the fleet organized and ready to take back Earth, while Jarvic here will initiate the Citadel's systems and get it ready to activate the temple network. This is it people. The final steps of our mission. Ready yourselves."

VVVVVV

Shepard sat on his couch in his cabin waiting for Tali to come up after sending her a message. He didn't have to wait long for her to arrive. Shepard didn't want to announce to the crew that activating Earth's temple would kill him. He didn't want that knowledge to be foreboding on their minds on their mission to retake Earth and activate the last temple. But he had to tell Tali about this.

"You wanted to talk John?" she said while walking towards him.

"Yes. Please sit down."

Tali sat down across from him on the couch.

"There was something else the Oracle told me that I didn't want the rest of the crew to know, but due to its significance, you need to know. To activate the temple I have to pay a price. That price... is my life."

"What?" Tali cried out. She jumped from the couch and embraced him. "No, no, no! There has to be another way. Some other means to activate it. There has to be another way. You always find a way..."

Shepard held her tightly. "If there was another way, I would do so, I swear I would. If there is I don't know it and the Oracle didn't say."

Tali broke out into tears. "No... I only got you back from the dead recently and now I lose you. You promised me you would never leave me again! You promised!"

Shepard couldn't help but break down as well. Tears ran down his cheeks. "I-I'm so sorry. I don't want to die. I don't want to leave you. You have been the greatest thing to ever enter my life. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. To grow old on Rannoch as we raise our children and reminisce about the old days. I wanted to spend every waking moment of my life making you happy. I wanted to give you all of that. But destiny has other plans for me."

"Wh-What if we just let the fleet handle the reapers?" Tali choked. "You built up a large force of ships they could handle the last of the reapers."

"The reapers and their forces have us outnumbered and outgunned. Even with my fleet joining them, we would not stand a chance against the majority of the reaper's forces."

"Why does it have to be you? You have sacrificed everything in your life for others and now you have to make this sacrifice? It's not fair."

"I wish there was another way, but this is all I can do."

"How do you deal with it? Always sacrificing and fighting when it seems impossible?"

"I know that if I fail, I'll lose everyone that I hold dear to me. That I would lose you. So I push on and fulfill my duty. But I'll be honest. I can't honestly say I do it for our galaxies anymore. It's just too big for me to handle or think of when I fight. I have to make it personal. Which is why, I fight with only you on my mind. I fight to protect your future regardless of the cost to me."

Tali's tears started to fade. She knew despite the ending he would be forced to endure, there is nothing they can do about it. Tali can't accept the fate that has been bestowed upon Shepard, but she can at least be supportive of him. "So what do we do now, knowing you're going to die in this final mission?"

"We make every moment we have left mean something," Shepard answered before kissing her.

VVVVVV

The crew walked through the Presidium. Due to evacuation orders, the area was completely empty; so empty that they could hear the echo of their footsteps as they approached the elevator. Jarvic was dressed in a cloak to hide him from view in case anyone did see him. They did not want to risk any chance of panicking anyone on the Citadel. The elevator took them to the top where they met the Council inside the Council chambers.

Shepard noticed Hackett's hologram next to the Councillors' holograms.

"Admiral Hackett? What are you doing here?" Shepard asked.

"I'm a temporary Councillor," Hackett replied. "The Alliance needed someone to represent them on the Council, so I was selected. We heard about your mission on Thessia."

"We are thankful that your mission on Thessia was a success," Tevos said. "Having an Ardat-Yakshi army would have greatly increased the reaper's power."

"Were you successful in locating the control temple?" Katlyo asked.

"Yes, Councillor," Shepard answered. "Both the temples on Thessia and the control temple have been successfully activated."

"Where do we go from here?" Velarn asked.

"Jarvic will be activating the Citadel, hence the need to evacuate it, and sending it into Earth's orbit," Shepard answered.

"Who is Jarvic and how the hell do you plan on transporting the Citadel in Earth's orbit?"

Jarvic stepped forward and pulled down his hood. "I am Jarvic. The last surviving prothean."

"Goddess," Tevos gasped. "An actual prothean."

"After the reapers left to dark space, I along with my fellow colleagues and the artician, created a new program within the Citadel that would allow it to warp into Earth's orbit. There Shepard would activate the temple on Earth. The Citadel would act as an amplifier and send the signal and energy to the other temples so they would go off all at once. This would engulf the entire galaxy in energy that kills reapers and their slaves."

"So we have everything we need to take back Earth?" Katlyo asked Shepard.

"We do," Shepard replied. "I would suggest mobilizing the fleet and readying them for our assault on Earth. We need keep the reapers busy while my team goes in to activate the temple."

"Then I would suggest we waste no more time here," Hackett said. "The Alliance is ready to attack."

"As are the asari," Tevos said.

"And the salarians," Katlyo added.

"And the Hierarchy," Velarn said.

"And the korgan!" a voice announced.

"And the drell," another said.

Everyone looked back and saw Thane, Wrex and Kolyat approach them.

"Thane, Wrex, Kolyat?" Shepard said. "What are you three doing here?"

"This is the final battle," Wrex stated. "No way I'm missing out fighting by your side in this fight. Besides I have battlemasters to lead the krogan in this fight." Wrex looked to Grunt. "Keeping strong, whelp?"

"Stronger," Grunt replied.

Wrex laughed. "Good boy."

"We have done all we can do by ourselves," Thane said. "It would be an honour to fight by your side once again."

"And I have to make sure he doesn't get himself killed," Kolyat joked. "Though we're not the only ones here. Look." Kolyat pointed behind him.

"Hey, Shepard!" Jacob called out while he jogged towards them.

"Commander," Miranda greeted while walking elegantly towards them.

"Ugh, the cheerleader is back," Jack groaned.

"Jack..." Shepard scorned.

"No trouble, no trouble!" Jack quickly said while throwing her hands up.

"Commander, long time," Nihlus said.

"Shepard-Commander," Legion finally announced itself.

"Looks like the whole team is here," Garrus said. "I almost feel sorry for the reapers."

"We're here to stay, Commander," Miranda said.

"If you're taking this fight to Earth, we want in," Jacob said.

"Success rate exponentially increase with addition support," Legion said.

"Looks like you have everyone you need," Hackett observed. "Our forces will be waiting for your go ahead. Once we get the signal, our forces at Arcturus will initiate the assault on Earth."

"I'll send the signal once we reach Arcturus," Shepard said. "We can be there in a few hours."

"We will be waiting," he said.

"Good luck in your mission, Commander," Tevos said.

"For all our sakes," Velarn said.

Their holograms blinked out.

"We have a mission, people," Shepard announced. "Back to the Normandy."

VVVVVV

When they returned back to their ship, Shepard received a message from Teilo that, with the help of Zaeed and Aria, Omega has united against their common enemy. Ships from Omega's personal security, Blood Pack, Eclipse, and Blue Suns will meet them at Arcturus to aid in the attack on Earth.

Everything is in order. Everyone was as prepared as they could be in the time they have been given. Armadas have been rallied. Shepard's first command was to set a course for Arcturus. The travel would take several hours which would give Shepard enough time to speak with the crew and spend some precious time with Tali.

Shepard stood in the cockpit next to Joker. He watched as the Normandy received

"So this is finally it, huh?" Joker said. "The final battle."

"We've come a long way," Shepard said.

"I'll say. When I graduated from the academy, I thought I would be in some good firefights in space, but I never expected to be part of a mission to save the galaxy."

"Funny how things work out," Shepard commented. "Any regrets?"

"Saving the galaxy several times? Not a chance. We've been through a lot, Commander. I just want you know that it has been an honour. What about you EDI?"

"I have loyally served Shepard's family for centuries," she said. "I would follow the Commander into the darkest depths of the universe."

"Good to hear," Shepard said.

"You can go ahead and do your rounds, Commander," Joker said. "You don't have to worry about EDI and me."

Shepard took his advice and went into the ship's CIC where Nihlus was going over mission Intel.

"Didn't hear from you too much since appeared on the Citadel in my defence," Shepard said to him.

"Been busy, Commander," he said in amusement. "Been getting Spectres together is not easy. Running missions here and there to counter Cerberus attacks. Spectres will be on the ground for the assault on Earth in various places around Earth."

"Sounds like you've had your hands full."

"Oh, yeah. But it appears that you have been busy yourself."

"I do what I can."

"Indeed. Commander... I... I know what happened in Bahak and I wanted to let you know that their deaths are not your fault."

"I know."

"If anything it's the Council's fault for not listening to you and your warnings."

"Once this is all over, they will be held accountable."

"If you need anything, Commander, just ask," Nihlus said. "Now I believe you still have more people to talk to before we reach Arcturus."

Shepard nodded and walked towards the armoury. The doors opened and he saw Vega, Jacob and Ashley working on the weapons, preparing them for the mission ahead. Ashley looked up and saw Shepard.

"Commander," she said while facing him.

"Just checking up on the crew before the mission."

"Nervous to say the least," Ashley said. "It finally comes down to this."

"Finally destroy those reapers," Vega muttered. "It is going to be one hell of a fight."

"Commander, I just wanted to say... I'm sorry again for the way I acted on Horizon."

"It's okay, Ash," Shepard said.

Ashley slammed her hand against the counter. "It's not okay. I was an idiot on Horizon."

"You were in shock and upset."

"I should have realized you didn't truly work for Cerberus. After everything you have done; your attitudes towards how to do your job and towards other races. The very least I should have suspected that you were undercover."

"He was," Jacob confirmed.

Ashley pointed to him in agreement. "Exactly. I messed up and I likely made your mission harder by not being there."

"You're here now, Ash. That's what matters now."

"I just wanted to say that it has been a pleasure serving on your crew, Commander," Vega stated. "After this mission, I'm buying you a beer."

"Count me in," Jacob said. "We still haven't celebrated our victory against the collectors, Shepard. We'll have to make up for it."

Shepard forced a smile. "We sure do. I'll let you three get back to work."

"Weapons aren't going to clean themselves," Ashley said while turning to her work counter.

Shepard exited the armoury, went passed the comm. room and entered the lab where Liara was examining some artician artefacts recovered from Klencory. She looked up and saw him.

"Oh, Shepard. Need something?"

"We're on our way to the final battle; I wanted to know how're you holding up?"

"Just fine," she said sarcastically. Her tone was not harsh but a joking manner. "We're just go to fight against an entire armada of ageless machines who have destroyed the galaxy countless times before. No pressure." Liara let out a small laugh. "If someone told me five years ago that I would be part of a mission to save the galaxy against reapers, I would, well... Have them committed. All of this has just been crazy, just crazy. I can't even begin to imagine what's it's like being you. Having to fight since you were young in one continuous war."

"I get by with the support of my friends and allies. You ever regret joining my crew those years ago?"

"Not even for a moment," she said with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. "Aside from helping save the galaxy, I have learned so much about the protheans and even of another universe. I'm glad I joined your crew years ago. Had I not I would probably be behind a desk in a museum by now."

"Less bullets whizzing by and would be a lot more quiet," Shepard joked.

"And a lot duller. I'm happy where I am, Commander. In the coming battle, I will give it my all."

"Thank you, Liara."

"Any time, Commander."

Shepard left the lab and entered the elevator and took it down a deck. He exited out of it and turned left to enter the observation room where Samara sat in meditation. Shepard went up beside her and sat down.

"How are you holding up?" he asked her.

"You're referring to Thessia?" she said calmly. "My last two daughters are now gone because of the monsters that have plagued this galaxy." A tear rolled from her glowing left eye. "These are wounds that will never heal, but I will keep it together for this one last battle."

"And after?"

"I... I do not know. After this war is over, I will have to do some reflection. I became a Justicar to make up for my mistakes and bring Morinth in. I have fulfilled that duty, but now I have lost my last two daughters. I fear I may have no purpose after the war."

"Purpose is something we choose for ourselves, regardless if it is given to us or if we find it. Once this war is over, this galaxy will need peace keepers to bring back order."

"And there will be individuals who will seek to take advantage of this galaxy with everyone weakened from the war. For the time being, I'll have purpose. I have a feeling there will be a great amount of change after the war."

"You could say that," Shepard replied. "I wanted to say that it has been a pleasure having you on my crew."

"And it has been an honour serving a man of your esteem."

"I'll leave you to your meditations."

Shepard left the room and went ahead to go into the life-support room where Thane and Kolyat examined their sniper rifles and smgs.

"Commander," they both greeted.

"How are you two?"

"We've been keeping it together," Kolyat answered. "I never did get the chance to properly thank you for stopping me from killing that politician, and setting me on my current path."

"You two getting along?"

Thane patted Kolyat on his shoulder. "We have managed to patch things up. Thanks to you, Commander."

"You sound much better since the treatment."

"The nanobots used on me have fully healed my lung tissue," Thane said. "These nanobots will ensure my people will be able to live longer lives. My race is forever in your debt."

"Many of from your race are fighting in this war, Thane. There's no debt between us."

"A generous attitude."

"An honest attitude," Shepard corrected. "You really have helped out in my mission Thane. Helped me take down the collectors and Udina. As far as I'm concerned we're even."

"I don't think you're going to be able to out-humble him," Kolyat said to Thane.

Thane laughed. "Probably. Regardless of debts, Commander, we will with the spirit of Arashu in this final battle."

"I'm not much of a spiritual traditionalist like my father here, but the sentiment remains the same," Kolyat added while ejecting an old heat sink from his pistol.

"May the spirits favour us in battle," Shepard said. "I will leave you to your preparations."

"We'll speak again when the mission begins," Thane said.

Shepard left the life support room and walked to the XO quarters. While garrus was his de facto XO on the Normandy, he stayed in the main battery room working on the Normandy's weapon systems. The room was temporarily given to Williams, but now Miranda had taken it as her temporary office. The doors opened and Shepard saw Miranda hard at work examining reports.

"Commander, good to see you," she said warmly. "Here for something?"

"Just getting a sense of the crew current mood."

"Well, despite what we're up against, I'm optimistic. We have rallied every race in two galaxies to face against the reapers. With this mega-fleet and the temple on Earth, I would say our chances of winning are good."

"How does it feel to be back on the Normandy?"

"Feels like home. Not that I didn't like where I was stationed during your campaign. That space station your people created is something else. And helping Hackett coordinate ground teams all over the galaxy has kept me busy. But being back on this ship and going to battle by your side... just feels right. Though this time as an agent of the Order as oppose to Cerberus. They can rot in hell for all I care."

"Well if you didn't join them I wouldn't be here."

"True. Do any of your people hold a grudge towards me? I didn't exact interact too much while I was on the station."

"You were not responsible for what happen to my galaxy. And you were not involved in any of Cerberus' crimes. You help bring me back to life and then betrayed Cerberus. If anything they'll be planning to construct a statue of you."

"I like the sound of that," she said with a smirk.

"Don't get too full of yourself," Shepard joked.

"It won't go to my head. Though in seriousness, Commander... Thank you for everything. The very least I can do for you now is be here."

"Thank you, Miranda."

"Now, I have to get back to these reports. We want full efficiency when we make our final attack."

"I'll leave you to your work."

"Of course, Commander. Though a suggestion..."

"I'm all ears."

"Do your rounds as quickly as possible," she said while cocking a brow. "You should spend as much time as possible with Tali before the final battle. We don't know what will happen when we go groundside on Earth. These could be the last moments you have left. Make good use of them."

"Oh I will," Shepard said while leaving her room.

"Too much information!" she yelled out before the doors closed.

Shepard laughed as he walked towards the main battery room. Garrus was doing what he usually does when he's not groundside: calibrations. Garrus turned around as his doors opened.

"Shepard."

"I hope you're not too busy with calibrations for a quick chat."

"They're mostly done anyways," Garrus said. "Heh, so what do the humans call it? Deja vu? Or articians? I'm not sure how to view your race or theirs anymore. They two races or one and the same?"

"Different races," Shepard explained. "We evolved in different environments, so despite our genetic similarities, we are different species. To be frank, I probably should have suspected this. It just seemed too coincidental that our races looked exactly alike."

"With an infinite number of universes out there it makes sense that there would be some races that would look like yours. But not much we can do now. This is an all or nothing mission. We go in, walk away from an explosion without looking back-"

"Without looking back?"

"Bad asses don't need to see the explosion. This mission will be our hardest mission yet, but I'm not giving up now. Been three years now since we first met."

"I remember you being the C-Sec cop getting frustrated with his boss and recklessly following any lead you could find."

"My recklessness got your attention," Garrus huffed.

"I saw you had potential to become a great warrior for justice. And here you are. A knight of the Order, the most prestigious title of my galaxy. You have changed a lot since we first met, but for the better."

"Worked out for me at least," Garrus said. "Got to do a lot of good in the galaxy. Even purging Omega of its filth. That many would say is a pipe dream, but we did it nonetheless."

"Garrus I know I haven't truly said this before, but you have been like a brother to me."

"Though I'm the most handsome of the two."

They both shared a laugh.

"Though the feeling is mutual. Though speaking of family, once this war is over with though, I'm going to have to visit mine. I haven't spoken to them in a while and my father is probably thinking I'm just being a disappointment."

"You have acted honourably in our adventures, Garrus. Regardless what he thinks, remember that."

"Of course, Shepard."

"Well, I have a few more people to talk to before we reach Arcturus. I guess we'll talk again when the battle begins."

"I think the conversation then will be, 'shoot that!' 'Shoot this!' 'Garrus, do something awesome!'"

"I don't think I have ever given you that order."

"Any order you give me becomes that order."

"Good speaking with you, Garrus," he said with a chuckle.

Shepard left the main battery room and walked to the med-bay where Chakwas drank some tea while going over a medical report. Shepard went through the med-bay and entered the AI core room where Legion stood.

Legion's flaps flared in recognition of Shepard's presence. "Shepard-Commander."

"How have things been between your people and the quarians?"

"Despite past antagonism, relationship between geth and creator race shows promise. Geth have been assisting the creators in restoring their world and repairing their ships. Whether this mutual cooperation will remain after the war is still unknown. Geth are however... optimistic."

"As long as both sides continue striving for a better future, it will."

"The geth are grateful for the role you and your people have planned in bringing peace to our people. Without your intervention, the likelihood of a war between us was one hundred percent, with a ninety-nine-point-six percent chance of one of our races going extinct. Reaper success in winning the war would have been a certainty."

"I'm glad both of your races were able to work things out."

"With peace between our people, combat efficiency will be high for the battle to take back earth and activate the temple. We stand ready for fight by your side."

"Thank you, Legion. We'll speak again when I give the briefing for this assault."

"Acknowledged."

Shepard left the AI core room and went straight to the elevator. He took it down one level. Upon exiting the elevator he took a left and entered the cargo room where Grunt and Wrex stayed. The two were in a shoving match. Grunt had his hands curled into fists trying to strike against Wrex. Wrex simple held him back by holding his fists. It looked effortless to him.

"Push harder whelp," Wrex said. "You won't be leading the clan in the future if you can't take on an old man."

"You're no mere old man," Grunt muttered.

"He's a Wrex," Shepard interjected.

Wrex looked to Shepard while holding back Grunt. "Ah, Shepard." Wrex then directed Grunt's actions and had him fall to the floor. "What can I do for you?"

"How are you two holding up?"

"We're anxious for this fight," Wrex replied. "It will be the largest fight in our history."

"I do worry about after the war," Grunt said. "Once this battle is over with, I will not be in a battle that will even compare to it. I will be living a long life and yet I'm getting the biggest battle right now instead of near the end like the clan chief here."

"You never know when your big battle will happen, but you make the most of it when it does come. You do that so the memories of your actions will be remembered for centuries to come. And in this battle, you better make the most of it; there will be peace once the reapers are dead, whelp. Only enemies left will be pirates and slavers."

"That doesn't sound very appealing."

"Unless you want to start a war with the Guardians, that's all we'll get."

"For now we should focus on the battle at hand and worry about the krogan's role in the future afterwards," Shepard said.

"At least we have a future now," Wrex said. "Thanks to you and your people. And Mordin."

"I wish he was still around this see the conclusion of this war."

"He died honourably in curing my people," Wrex assured him. "I think the collector base was his last fight. All he could do after that was make amends to my people. With your help he did and he will be remembered. With the genophage cure, my people can finally move forward and remind the galaxy our once status as their protectors. We will fight with ferocity in this battle."

"I know I will," Grunt added. "When you released me out of my tank, I'll admit that I didn't think you would be much of a war. With your funny... peaceful ways and diplomatic nonsense. After fighting by your side many times, I now know that you are a warrior without an equal. An unstoppable force. It has truly been an honour fighting by your side all this time."

"Likewise, Grunt," Shepard said. "Now I have a couple more people I should check up on and I think you two would want to continue preparing for this mission."

"We won't keep you, Shepard," Wrex said. "But one thing, Shepard."

"Yes?"

"I wasn't joking about making you an honorary krogan. I'll make it happen."

"You always keep your word."

Shepard walked out of the cargo room and went towards the room just down the hall. Since Zaeed moved out, Jack took over his space. Shepard entered in through the door and saw Jack lying on her fold-out cot. She was staring up at the ceiling. When she heard Shepard walking in, she sat up and spun to face him. Jack continued sitting.

"Hey," she said in a positive tone. "Doing your routine rounds?"

"Yeah," Shepard answered. "This is going to be our final battle, so I wanted to see how everyone was doing before we go in."

"I'm good, Commander." Jack laughed in a sigh. "I never thought I'd see myself here. If someone told me, a year ago, that not only would I go legit but be part of a mission to save the galaxy, I'd kill them. And then probably take their credit chit. You take us to weird places, Commander. But if it weren't for you, I would still be stuck in Purgatory or dead. I wouldn't have come to terms with my past. And I would have no purpose in my life."

"You have been through a lot in your life, Jack. Despite it all you have truly become an honourable warrior."

"Thanks to you, Commander. If we live after this mission, I am going to get very shitface drunk. There is going to be one hell of a party."

"I'm sure there will be, but I thought you don't like to be around other people."

"I never said I didn't like to get drunk. Anyways, I'm starting to warm up to others." Jack swung her feet back onto the cot. "Now I'm going to take a nap before this battle. I doubt there will be much rest once we get there. If you don't mind..."

"Not at all. I'll see you in a few hours."

Jack turned over on her side facing away from him and just waved to acknowledge him.

Shepard left the room, went through the sub-deck staircase, and entered engineering where Tali was working.

"Tali..." he said to her.

Tali turned around. She walked up to him. Shepard held out his hand and Tali held it. He led her away from engineering to the elevator. No words were needed between the two to convey their feelings or thoughts.

When Shepard and Tali left engineering, Ken chuckled. "I can tell you how those two will be doing for the next couple hours."

"You're such a pig," Gabby sighed.

When Shepard and Tali entered the elevator, Shepard's hands reached for her helmet. He slowly removed her facemask. With the translucent plane of glass out of the way, the two kissed as the elevator doors closed.

VVVVVV

Hackett was facing a window that viewed the massive fleet that waited around Arcturus station. There were easily tens of thousands of ships of various classes and from various races. The view was breath-taking. It was error seeing ships from past enemies sit nearby allies. Amongst them were geth, batarian, rachni and krogan. Regardless of past history, this wasn't a time for past grudges but to fight for a common cause. Hackett would not turn away anyone willing to fight and die for the sake of the galaxy.

It would be another hour before he would go aboard the SSV Aconcagua. The dreadnaught was massive and just recently finished construction just months ago. It contained the most up-to-date technology and weaponry that the Alliance had available. The Guardians themselves were more than willing to make some improvements to give it a boast. A jingle came from the holo-stands to his right. Hackett turned and watched the Councillors take form.

"Councillors," he greet in a neutral tone. "The fleet is all together and we are currently waiting for Shepard's arrival."

"The Commander truly does have a remarkable talent for bringing many different people together form a cause," Tevos observed.

"I doubt even we could have mustered a force even half this powerful without his help," Katlyo added.

"You wouldn't have," Hackett said matter-of-factly. "Without Shepard we would have already lost this war two years ago."

"We are more informed now," Velarn explained. "In retrospect, we could have done more, but we didn't have the intelligence to prove what Shepard was warning us about."

"In retrospect?" Hackett repeated in confusion. "There was more than enough evidence to at least warrant an investigation. We have records of dozens of worlds that were once host to a civilized race only to have their cities destroyed by railgun-like weapons. No scientist were able to match the material of Sovereign with any geth material we've found. We even have Shepard's report from two years ago when he investigated the disappearance of an Exogeni survey team, only to find that they discovered dragon teeth that date older than the geth by thousands of years thus proving that husks were not directly created by geth. Even your own race's military officials urged you to investigate the reaper threat. Yet you three did nothing."

"Don't let your position go to your head," Velarn warned. "We don't answer to you for our past decisions."

"No you don't," Hackett admitted. "But that doesn't mean you don't answer to the people. Once Shepard arrives we will begin the assault. Hopefully we will speak again."

"We wish you luck in your mission, Admiral," Tevos said to him.

Their holograms blinked out. Hackett looked back out the window and mumbled, "Goddamn idiots."

VVVVVV

Shepard lay on his side with his arms wrapped around Tali's naked form. His sheets covered their bodies. Tali rested her head in the nook of Shepard's neck. Shepard felt her breath on his chest. They two lay there exchanging their warmth after their love-making.

"John..." Tali said, breaking the silence. "How do your people come to terms with death? What are your people's beliefs about death?"

Shepard's arms tighten around her. "Despite how old my civilization was, we could never prove nor disprove if there was some higher being. Frankly, we don't see the need to worship such a being as we would assume that such worship would be beneath it. We know there are spirits and souls only because we have actually seen them. But whether there is an afterlife or maybe there is reincarnation, I do not know. My people believed in immortalizing ourselves through our actions so we may be remembered by people we care about or have helped." Shepard then placed a hand on Tali's stomach. "We even bring in another generation so they can keep that memory alive."

Shepard could feel tears hit his chest. "Are you sure you want this, Tali?"

"Yes," she choked. "I-I need a part of you to stay with me. I want this child. It will be all I'll have left of you."

Shepard kissed her head. "Tali... No matter what happens in the coming battle... Know that I will always love you and that you were the brightest part of my life."

"I love you too, John. Keelah, I love you."

VVVVVV

The Normandy came out of the mass relay into the Arcturus system. There it viewed tens of thousands of ships; all of them were organized into rows of which ones would go first through the mass relay to Sol system. Shepard and his team were all wearing their battle-wear and had their weapons strapped on. Hackett's hologram appeared over the table once they entered the system.

"I was beginning to wonder when you would show up," Hackett said.

"It's my destiny to be here today, Admiral," Shepard said. "Are the fleets ready for the attack?"

"They are," Hackett answered. "They are just waiting for their 'go ahead.' Do you have any words of encouragement before we initiate the assault?"

"I do," Shepard replied. "Can you link me to all of the ships?"

"It is done."

"This is Supreme Commander John Shepard," he started. "What lies on the other side of those relays is an enemy that doesn't just threaten the humans' existence, but threatens all life in the galaxy in the present and in the future. For millions of years these reapers have been a parasite that has fed on our galaxies. They've controlled our fate and treated us as lesser beings. Today their reign ends. We will strike back with a ferocity that will even make these abominations shudder. Their taint will be purged from our galaxies. All will know the strength the many united can muster. Today we will fight and we will be victorious!"

The signal cut shortly after his proclamation. Hackett reappeared over the table. "Good speech, Commander."

"I am ordering the initiation of our assault."

"Got it." Hackett's hologram turned another direction. "Attention all vessels. This is Admiral Hackett. The order for the attack has been given. All forces move out!"

The Normandy followed the first row of attackers. Most of the ships were frigates with half a dozen cruisers and a dreadnaught. The ships approached the mass relay. The inner rings started spinning faster as the armada approached it. Electricity surged from the center mass of energy of the relay and impacted several of the ships.

These ships were immediately launched into the Sol system. The ships were joined by the Guardian fleet which skipped using the mass relay and preferred to use their warp drives. As the ships approached Earth, the Normandy started picking up a signal.

"Commander, we're picking up a transmission," Joker announced over the comm.

"Open the channel," Shepard ordered.

"My lord is that you?" a familiar voice asked.

"Aether?"

"It is you! Thank the Architect! I take it means you have united the galaxy?"

"Indeed, old friend. What is the situation on Earth?"

"Bad. Most major cities have been destroyed. We had to move the main Alliance base many times to avoid detection."

"Aether, listen. We now have a way to destroy the reapers once and for all. There's an artician temple in London, England that must be activated. Once it is, it can send out an energy wave that will wipe out all reaper trace in the galaxy."

"London? So that's what they're digging up."

"The reapers located it?"

"I believe so. We had no idea why they were digging in London."

"They can sense the temple," Shepard concluded. "Aether, is Anderson still alive?"

"He is. The Admiral is currently giving out orders for the soldiers."

"I need you to tell him to send every available soldier to London to escort us."

"Yes, sir. Here's coordinates to a safe landing zone near the dig site. We can meet you there."

"Thank you, Aether."

"See you soon, Commander."

Shepard turned his attention to his crew. "I want everyone down in the cargo bay and ready to go groundside. This mission will be fast and brutal. Move!"

VVVVVV

The Normandy went through the atmosphere. There were reapers all over the city. Many of them blast away at the cityscape with their beam weapons. The Normandy found the location that Aether provided and hovered over the ground. Shepard and his team jumped off of the ramp of the cargo bay and landed on the ground.

"We're groundside, Joker," Shepard notified him over the comm.

"Okay, I'll try to lend support when I can," Joker said. "Good luck, Commander."

"Thanks, Joker."

The Normandy flew off from their position. Shepard scanned the area and saw the dig site. The area around the crater was cleared of buildings.

"I'm guessing that's the dig site," Garrus said.

"That would be a fair guess," Jacob said.

"Shepard!" a voice called out.

Shepard looked in the direction of the voice. He saw both Aether and Anderson head their way.

"Admiral, it's good to see you alive."

"Likewise, Commander." Anderson looked at his whole team. "You really have brought in the reinforcements."

"Where are the other Alliance soldiers?"

"In different areas of the city. There are husks all over the place. So what's the plan?"

"In the dig site is a temple my people left here fifty thousand years ago."

"Your people left one here?"

"It's a long story, I'll tell you later, but my sword will activate the temple below. Once I do, an energy wave will come forth from the temple and eliminate all reapers in the galaxy."

"That's great news."

"It is, but we need to get down there," Shepard said. He turned to face his team. "This is it everyone. Just ahead is the crater that contains the last temple. The reapers are going to throw everything they have at us, but I know they will not stop us. We all have been through a lot for the past few years. Face untold horrors and challenges that would break a lesser person. But we have endured. We have been ignored and laughed at, but we still fought on. Every hardship we faced has only made us stronger. I look before me and see some of the greatest warriors of all time. So I ask you to fight with me in this final battle and show these reapers just what we are capable of!"

Everyone on his team pulled out their weapons of choice.

"Move out!"

Shepard took point as his squad followed behind them. They moved around and over rubble left behind from the surrounding buildings that collapsed. The area and sky were grey. It wasn't obvious if it was the natural weather or the ash from the destruction. The ground shuddered from the nearby reapers that prowled the area.

"There's Shepard!" a voice called out.

On top of one of the non-collapsed buildings was a Cerberus Trooper.

"Cerberus!" Ashley called out.

"Fire back!" Shepard ordered.

Thane managed to take out one of the Cerberus soldiers with a well placed sniper shot. Several more Cerberus soldiers appeared from the roof tops. Shepard's squad took cover behind some rubble as the soldiers fired upon their location.

"We don't have time for this," Vega growled.

"For the krogan!" a new voice yelled out.

"For the krogan!" more voices followed.

The Cerberus soldiers were flung off of the buildings. They screamed as they fell and hit the ground. Shepard looked up and saw a dozen krogan soldiers on the rooftops.

"Looks like me people got here just in time," Wrex said. "They'll give us cover."

The krogan did their job as they travelled by rooftop, taking care of Cerberus soldiers that were using the rooftops to their advantage. Shepard's team moved forward down the street.

"We have turrets ahead!" Tali warned.

Just fifty feet down, Cerberus engineers had set up a line of turrets. Again Shepard's team had to take cover to avoid fire.

"Bosh'tets are too far away to hack!" Tali cursed.

"Shepard's team needs to make it to the temple!" a voice rang.

Shepard peeked around his cover and saw a glow surround the turrets indicating a hack. Quarians came out from a sewer manhole. With their omni-tools glowing. Salarians came in through the alleyways and fired off cryo and inferno blasts at the Cerberus engineers. Shepard could recognize one of the quarians.

"Is that you, Reegar?" he asked.

"Good to see you again, Shepard," he replied. Reegar looked to Tali. "M'am."

Tali let the word drop considering the situation they were in.

"You're leading the assault team here?"

"In London, yes," Reegar answered. "We're too help you in any way we can. The salarians as well."

"We'll take all the help we can get," Shepard said.

VVVVVV

The battle in space was hectic. Joker sent a great amount of time, dodging beam attacks from reapers. At least a couple dozen ships on their side were immediately destroyed at the beginning of the battle. So far they have only destroyed a dozen reapers.

"Incoming hostile," EDI announced.

"Tell me something I don't know," Joker groaned.

"I have identified the reaper. It's Harbinger."

"Harbinger?" he repeated. "Ah, hell!"

"Enemy is firing."

The Normandy swayed left and right to avoid Harbinger's attacks.

"At the current rate of fire, we will not be able to dodge for much longer."

"Think, Joker, think," he muttered to himself. Joker suddenly got an epiphany. "EDI, can you contact one of the Guardian dreadnaughts?"

"Which one?"

"One that is the least busy."

"Opening channel to the GSV Hydra."

"This is Admiral Dwem," the captain of the ship responded.

"This is helmsman, Joker, of the Normandy. I need you help in taking care of Harbinger."

"We can help in any way necessary."

"I need you to charge up your pillar of light."

"That weapon is meant for ground attacks," the admiral explained. He was confused why Joker would ask for that weapon.

"Just trust me. Charge it up and fire it when I give my say so."

"Very well, helmsman. Weapon is now charging."

"EDI, I want you to open a line to Harbinger."

"May I ask why?"

"To make sure he keeps chasing us."

"Opening channel."

"Hey, Harbinger. What's wrong? Eons of neglect is starting to take a toll on your targeting systems?"

"PITIFUL INSECT. YOU WILL KNOW GREAT SUFFERING. YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN AN ANNOYANCE."

"That's pretty big talk from a ship that can't shoot straight."

"WE WILL EXTEND YOUR SUFFERING."

The Normandy flew directly at the pillar of light cannon of the Hydra.

"Proximity warning," EDI announced. "We are quickly approaching the Hydra. I recommend diverting direction."

"Not yet," Joker said to her. "Not yet."

"YOUR DEATH WILL BE SLOW AND TRANSFORMATION PAINFUL."

Just when the Normandy got within half a click of the Hydra, Joker yelled out over the comm. "Fire pillar of light now!"

"Firing weapon," the admiral announced.

The pillar of light fired in the Normandy's direction. Joker manoeuvred the Normandy out of the way just in time. The massive beam of light engulfed Harbinger incinerating its gargantuan body. The beam travelled further going through the space battle. The beam annihilated a smaller reaper vessel, severed the legs of a second, and obliterated the back of another. Still the beam continued towards the planet's surface.

"That was very reckless," the admiral scorned him. "But damn fine work."

"I really hope that beam doesn't hit anyone on Earth," Joker said.

VVVVVV

Shepard and his platoon fought their way through the streets and were quickly closing in on the crater. A mechanical roar echoed throughout the area. A reaper smashed through a nearby building and charged towards their position.

"Incoming reaper!" Garrus yelled out.

"What the hell is that?" Jack asked out loud. She pointed towards the sky. It looked like a small sun in the sky.

Shepard's eyes widen. "Everyone run!"

None of the soldiers questioned why. They ran in the opposite direction of the reaper. The reaper was closing in on them. Its exoskeleton opened up revealing its beam weapon. The weapon started charging up ready to fire upon Shepard's platoon.

Before the weapon could fire, a pillar of light came down and engulfed the reaper. Everyone in the platoon leaped as far as they could to avoid the weapon. They landed on their stomachs. The beam struck no more than a hundred feet away from them. The beam quickly died down and there was nothing left of the reaper.

"What the hell was that?" Kolyat demanded.

Shepard got to his feet and opened his comm. "Who fired the pillar of light?" he demanded in an irritated tone.

"I ordered the Hydra to fire the beam to take care of Harbinger," Joker answered. "Why? Did it come close to you?"

"Any closer and we would have been ash."

"Sorry, Commander."

"Was Harbinger eliminated?"

"Yes, Shepard. Along with three other reapers up here."

"Make that four. The beam struck a reaper that was about to attack us."

"Ha! Nice!"

"Don't get cocky," Shepard warned him. "Continue your fight. We're almost at the temple."

"Aye, aye. Good hunting."

Shepard's platoon approached the mile wide crater that the reaper dug up. They could see the temple in the center. "There it is!" he pointed out.

Many roars were heard all around. Hundreds of husks of various types came out of the nearby buildings and were approaching their position. Gunfire came in from above at the approaching swarm. Above Shepard's group were dropships that belonged to the asari and turians.

"Commander, you and your team need to go ahead without us," Reegar told him. "We'll make sure you don't have your flank swarmed."

"Can you handle this many husks?" Shepard asked.

A jet roaring sound came in. A geth dropship moved in and shot down a couple dozen troopers and an armature.

"We can hold them off long enough for you to activate the temple. Just hurry, because with that many husks, I don't think it'll be long before they over run us."

"Thank you, Reegar," Shepard said.

"No thank you," he corrected. Reegar looked to Tali. "You keep safe, Tali."

"You used my name," Tali said in amusement.

"I told you I would work on it. Now go!"

Shepard and his team carried on. They could hear the platoon open fire on the many husks.

"We need to be fast," Anderson said. "They won't last too long."

"We don't need too long," Shepard assured him. "We go in-"

"Something exciting happens," Garrus continued, "and then we win."

"More or less."

They continued down the pathway that zigzagged down the edge of the cliff wall of the crater. The pathway connected to a platform that Shepard could only assume was for ships to land on. The platform was a hundred by a hundred feet in its top dimensions. To the side, Shepard could see a staircase that reached the bottom of the hole.

"There's our way to the bottom," Shepard pointed out.

"I won't let you activate the temple," a voice chimed in.

Kai Leng came up from the stairway.

"Leng!" Anderson growled. "I should have killed you when I had the chance."

"But that wouldn't be in your nature," he said. "That child would have died if you had gone after me."

"Well now I can correct it."

Kai Leng pulled out his sword. Everyone had their weapon aimed at him. "Face me in singular combat, Commander. Let me show you who the superior soldier is."

"Weapons down everyone," Shepard ordered.

"You can't be serious, Commander?" Jack said.

"Don't give him the pleasure!" Ashley yelled at him.

"This man needs to die now," Aether said.

"Weapons down everyone!" Shepard ordered again.

This time everyone complied and lowered their weapons.

"I thought you would accept my challenge," Kai said in a chuckle.

"I challenge those who are worthy of facing me," Shepard growled. His eyes glowed green. "I crush those who kill my friends!"

Shepard waved his hand and lifted a shard of metal and flung it at a ridiculous speed. Kai couldn't dodge it and the shard of metal sliced off his left arm. Kai screamed as his arm was severed.

"For those you have harmed, I will send you to the void!" Shepard roared. He used his powers and lifted a large metal crate and threw it at Kai. The crate hit and sent him off of the platform.

"I was worried you were going to accept his challenge," Anderson said.

"The dishonourable have no right to challenge me."

"Way looks clear, we should..." Vega trailed off as the platform started to shake.

Everyone tried to keep their footing. A familiar mechanical groan was heard by them all. A large mechanical hand rose up and grabbed onto the platform. Another giant hand came into view and grabbed the platform. The enemy revealed itself as it pulled itself into view.

"Gods..." Kolyat muttered seeing the monstrosity.

"My god..." Anderson gasped. "What is that?"

"It's a reaper larva," Shepard answered. "Just like the one we faced in the collector base."

The larva before them was different from the one they faced before. Its chest was more covered in armour plating. A large crest extended from its shoulders past its head. Smaller appendages came out from its rib cage. This larva was very close to being complete as at this point, its shape was closer to that of a reaper, like Sovereign, than the skeleton they faced in the collector base.

"This is Commander Shepard, I need a pillar of light strike hear my position ASAP," Shepard ordered over his comm. Shepard saw a compartment open in the forehead of the reaper. In the compartment was Leng who was hooking himself up to dozens of tubes.

"I should have known you would be too cowardly to take me on, on your own," he said. "Now I will become more than human. I will become the perfect being."

The tubes started pumping an unknown fluid into his body. Leng's laughter soon died down as he started to panic. "What's happening? Why is this so painful?" Leng started screaming as his body started to lose its colour and form. The liquid was transforming him. "This isn't what I agreed to! Ah! Someone help me!" Leng's body dissolved and filled in the compartment with his genetic material. All that was left of him was his heavily-implanted skull that was imbedded into the reaper's third-eye.

"This is Admiral Dwem, Commander," a voice called in through the comm. "We are over your position."

"Charge up a pillar of light and strike down the reaper here."

"Charging, Commander, but you need to push it away from you as it is too close. You also need survive long enough for this to weapon charge. Can you do that?"

"We have no choice but to find out," Shepard replied.

The reaper larva started to charge up a beam of energy around its mouth.

"Everyone take cover!" Shepard ordered.

Everyone took cover behind the various boxes and barriers. They beam impacted the cover harmlessly.

"How the hell are we to push that thing back?" Ashley yelled.

"Commander, I see it still has those weak spots like the larva we faced in the base," Nihlus said. "Remember that firing on those points caused it to shudder back?"

"Good idea, Nihlus," Shepard said. "Everyone focus their fire on either the glowing chest piece or its eyes," Shepard ordered. "We need to push it back far enough for the pillar of light to strike."

Everyone jumped out of cover and began firing of its chest piece and eyes. The reaper lifted its right hand and slammed down on the platform. Everyone in the way of the attack rolled out of the way. The attack destroyed a lot of the cover they had on the platform.

"It's going to strike again!" Anderson yelled!

"Take cover!" Garrus yelled.

Everyone rolled into cover. With less cover, a lot of them had to crouch close to each other. Shepard was on his side facing Tali. They looked into each other's eyes. He smiled sadly and stroked her arm. The reaper fired off its beam which impacted the crates and barriers.

The squad popped out of cover and returned a barrage of bullets at the reaper's weak spots. The reaper raised its left arm. Everyone in the way ran out of the way as the arm came down. The last of the cover was destroyed.

"Goddess, we have no more cover!" Liara called out.

"Then it's now or never," Samara said.

"Don't let up!" Shepard yelled out.

The reaper roared and started charging up another blast of energy.

"It's getting ready for another attack!" Grunt said.

"Keep attacking!" Shepard said.

Just when the reaper was about to fire, something impacted its head causing it to fall backwards. Shepard saw the Normandy fly by.

"God damn good timing, Joker!" Shepard said over the comm.

"What would you do without me?" Joker joked.

A beam fired upwards and hit one of the thrusters of the Normandy.

"I've been hit!" Joker yelled. "I can't keep to ship up, I need to take her down."

The Normandy flew out of the crater. They all could hear a crash.

"Joker, do you read?" Shepard called out through the comm. "Joker? Damn it!"

The reaper got up and roared again. Shepard gritted his teeth. "Hydra, fire the pillar!"

"Firing," the admiral said.

The beam of light came down from the sky and impacted the reaper larva. The reaper screamed while reaching upwards as if trying to see what was attacking it. Shepard and his team watched as the reaper was reduced to nothing. The beam died down and all traces of the reaper and Leng were purged from existence.

"The reaper's gone, we need to hurry to the temple," Shepard said.

"After you, John," Tali said.

"Time to end this."

The team ran down the stairway. The climb down was short. At the bottom they could see the impact crater more clearly.

"There's the temple!" Samara said.

They went around the impact crater and approached the temple. Everyone looked the temple up and down.

"That is something else," Anderson whistled.

"So we go in and activate it," Garrus said.

"Sorry, Garrus but there is no 'we' here, just me," Shepard said.

"What do you mean no 'we'?" Garrus asked.

Shepard turned to Tali. She was already starting to cry. "Tali, know that I love you with every fibre of my being and I hope you live a long and happy life."

"I-I love you too, John. I love you so much."

Shepard looked to his team with tears in his eyes. "You have all been good friends, and I want you all to know it has been an honour to fight alongside each of you."

"What are you talking about, Commander?" Jack asked. For the first time, the squad could hear worry in her voice.

"Good bye, all of you." And with that, Shepard went through the doors of the temple which closed shut after him.

Tali fell to her knees and screamed. Garrus and Ashley crouched down next to her.

"Tali, what was he talking about?" Garrus asked her.

"Why are you crying?" Ashley also asked.

"H-He didn't want anyone to know before- before we went into battle," Tali sobbed.

"Know what?" Anderson asked.

"For this temple..." Tali choked on her tears. "He has to... He has to give his life to activate it."

"What?" Garrus exclaimed.

"You mean after all the crap he has been through he dies?" Jack said. "That's bullshit!"

"For once, I agree," Miranda said. "Was there no other way?"

"Shepard would've gone with it if there was," Anderson said in a sigh. The old soldier felt his eyes began to sting. Shepard was like a son to him. He went through some of the worse the galaxy could through at him, yet he still fought on.

"Damn it, Shepard," Aether muttered. "You deserved better than this fate."

Thane said a little prayer. "Gods, please help Shepard."

Liara crouched down next to Tali. "Tali, I'm so sorry. I know how much you loved him."

"There they are!" someone yelled.

The team looked up and saw Cerberus Troopers come in on their jetpack boots.

"Damn Cerberus!" Kolyat spat.

"We have to hold this position until Shepard activates the temple," Garrus said. "Everyone dig in and prepare for the fight of your lives."

"In memory of Shepard!" Grunt roared.

"In memory of the man I love!" Tali yelled. She fired her shotgun taking out one of the Cerberus soldiers who hovered towards the ground.

VVVVVV

A signal blinked on Jarvic's console. He smiled. "You finally found it, artician. Good work."

He type in a few commands on the terminal before him. The area was so empty. It reminded him of when he and his colleagues used the Conduit to transport themselves here after the reapers left. It was also here they met the queen artician who helped make this all possible.

Outside, the tips of the Citadel started surging with electricity. The electricity connected to each type and started vibrating at a rapid rate. A wormhole appeared in front of the mega structure.

"It's all up to you, Commander." Jarvic typed in another command on the terminal.

The Citadel went through the wormhole, leaving its system of origin.

VVVVVV

Shepard ran down the corridor towards the center chamber where the last pedestal would be that needed to be activated. He found the humour that he was knowingly running to his death very bitter-sweet. Like the temples before him, the way was straight-forward as the corridor led him directly to the chamber. There in the center was the pedestal that would kill him.

Shepard started to breathe heavily as he approached the pedestal. He stared at it for a moment just mentally preparing himself for this act. Shepard raised Asha Bel and aimed it at the slot.

"Wait!" a voice yelled out before Shepard could thrust the sword forward. "There is another way Shepard."

Shepard looked to the direction of the voice. The Illusive Man walked out of the shadows.

"You dare enter my people's temple?" Shepard growled.

"Shepard I think we both know it's not just your people's temple. I know that our races are one and the same. I know you hate me, Shepard."

"Hate is too light of a word," Shepard said as he went around the pedestal.

TIM started circling the pedestal as well to keep it between him and Shepard.

"Yes, well, I have another way to stop the reapers."

"Stop them? Why would you want to stop them?"

"Not so much as stop as in control," he corrected himself. TIM noticed the dumbfounded look on Shepard's face. "You thought I was indoctrinated. That is not the case. See Shepard, during the First Contact War, I was a mercenary that worked for the Alliance. During one mission, we came across an ancient artefact. This artefact changed me as you can see by my eyes."

"I suspected as much."

"But you see the artefact didn't take me all the way to the threshold of a husk. Over the years, being exposed to inactive reaper tech has rendered me immune to their indoctrination. This alliance with the reapers was so I could learn more about them. And in doing so I know of a way to stop the reapers without destroying them."

TIM stopped in front of the pedestal as did Shepard. He pulled out a darkened version of Asha Bel and held it in front of him. "Insert this into the pedestal. By doing so, you will have control over all the reapers in the galaxy. And doing so, you will live."

Shepard's eyes widen.

"I know that putting your stone into the pedestal will kill you. I'm offering you a chance to live a long and happy life. Shepard I know our history is terrible. I know that I'm responsible for what has happened to your people, but I want you to see reason. The Oracle has been playing us both. You want to be a pawn to a spirit that treated you no better than a pawn on the board? Humanity for all intents and purposes are the remnants of the articians. The articians can rise again and be the great people they once were. Do the right thing for yourself, for your people and use this sword." TIM held the sword out to Shepard.

Shepard stared at the ground in deep thought and finally said, "I will do what is best for my people."

A smile came across TIM's face. That smile immediately went away as Shepard charged forward and impaled his sword through TIM's stomach and into the slot of the pedestal.

"My people would want this taint purged from the galaxy." Shepard twisted the sword causing more pain to TIM and activating the temple. "Even if it means wiping us all out."

"No!" TIM screamed.

Shepard felt the sword started to pull at the very fibre of his being. 'This is it,' he thought. 'Tali... I love you.'

A burst of energy sent him flying from the sword. The shock knocked him out of his train-of-thought. "What the?" Shepard sat up and saw that the temple was still activating. A misty form started to take shape around the sword. The mist started to become more opaque and take shape. The mist soon formed into someone all too familiar.

"Oracle?" Shepard gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"Seeking my redemption for everything I have done," she cried out. "I have wiped out my people twice, created the reapers, caused the extinction of countless races, and manipulated you. With the part-artician physical essence of Jack Harper and my artician soul, the ritual can be performed."

"No!" TIM choked. Blood came out from his mouth. He was gasping for air.

The Oracle put a finger to his lips. "Shh... Now we must pay for our sins." The Oracle looked to Shepard with a smile. "Good bye, John. I'm sorry for everything I have done. Know that I always thought of you as a son. I love you."

"No!" TIM tried to get out in a futile effort.

Light came from the two as the temple consumed their essences. Shepard shielded his eyes from the bright white light.

VVVVVV

Shepard's team was started to tire from fighting against wave after wave of Cerberus soldiers.

"I don't know how much longer I can last," Liara muttered.

"We need to keep holding on," Anderson urged. "We just need to wait until Shepard activates the temple."

"Look!" Jacob pointed. "The temple is glowing!"

Everyone, including the Cerberus soldiers, stared at the temple. The green energy exploded outwards. The Cerberus soldiers tried to run, but the wave quickly caught up to them. They fell to the ground dead.

VVVVVV

"We've lost the third fleet!" an admiral yelled over the Alliance network. "We are getting destroyed out here."

"We are staying the course!" Hackett reiterated. "We win or lose. There is no retreat. Believe in Commander Shepard."

"I'm detecting an energy surge," one of the Guardian admirals noted.

A wormhole appeared and the Citadel appeared above Earth. Just after it appeared, a green energy wave came forth from Earth.

"Shepard's done it," Hackett muttered.

The energy wave went through everything. When it passed through the reapers, they dissolved into ash while the fleet of thousands of ships remained unharmed. The energy wave impacted the Citadel causing it to glow.

VVVVVV

Inside the energy amplified. Jarvic stood at his console with a look of peace across his face. "We did it." The intense energy was too much for his body to handle. His body vaporized in a flash of light.

VVVVVV

Four wormholes opened in front of the Citadel. The energy that the Citadel collected fired as a beam in each of the wormholes from four of the station's arms. The wormholes closed as soon as the beam of energy was fired through. From the fifth arm, the energy exploded outwards at a pace at roughly the speed of light.

VVVVVVV

Over the planets of Tuchanka, Palaven, Thessia and Khar'Shan, a wormhole opened up unleashing a beam of green light. Each beam impacted the temple on each of these planets reigniting their full function. Each temple at the different corners of the galaxy went off sending off an energy wave larger than they had emitted before.

The wave moved in all directions engulfing the entirety of the galaxy in green light, purging every taint of the reapers. Despite being made by them, the mass relays remained unharmed as they were made from a different material and technology than the reapers.

Everyone on every planet held their breath as they watched the energy wave passed by them.

Every husk, every Cerberus soldier, even indoctrinated agents, either disintegrated or fell over and died on every world the energy wave passed over.

The war was over. Gunfire and ship attacks died downed immediately. Every soldier was quiet as they watched their enemy either die or vanish.

The silence from the civilians and soldiers was short lived as it was quickly replaced by a sound no one has heard since the war began. Cheering.

VVVVVV

Tali stared at the temple a mixture of relief, anger and sorrow filled her. She felt Garrus place a hand on his shoulder.

"He was a good man," he said.

"He was the best," Tali corrected. "There will never be any one like him again."

"Miss Zorah," Anderson said. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you."

The group's sorrow and mourning was quickly cut off as they heard the temple door move. Dust was kicked up when the temple activated so the group was unable to see what was opening the door. Just in case, everyone had their weapons ready. Tali stared in the direction of the temple in anticipation.

A figure appeared through the dust and was moving towards them. The figure broke through the dust revealing himself.

"My god..." Anderson gasped.

"Did we win?" Shepard asked rhetorically.

"John!" Tali squealed. She threw her weapon to the ground and ran to him. Tali reached for her face mask and removed it for the last time. The mask was tossed to the ground.

Shepard held his arms out as Tali ran to him. Tali leaped and Shepard caught her. The two embraced and kissed while Shepard spun around in joy.

"You're alive! You're alive! You're alive!"

The heart-warming moment even made tears come to Jack's and Grunt's eyes.

"You crying, Grunt?" Jacob asked.

"No," he replied. "Just the dust."

The group watched the reunion of Shepard and Tali. None of them dared to interrupt this moment between them despite the many questions they had.

"How did you survive?" Tali asked Shepard while pulling away from their tearful kiss. "I thought you were supposed to die when you activated the temple?"

"The Oracle..." Shepard said before a pain hit his heart. "The Oracle sacrificed herself and The Illusive Man so I didn't have to make the sacrifice myself. She wanted me to keep my promise to you."

"You mean...?"

"I'm yours forever."

"Oh, John..."

"You did it, Commander," Anderson congratulated. "You saved us all."

"We did it," Shepard corrected. "If not for all of you, I would never have gotten this far."

"How about not being a pussy for once and taking credit where it's due?" Jack suggested jokingly.

Everyone had a good laugh. Shepard looked around the area. "Looks like you all had one hell of a fight out here."

"It was overwhelming, but thanks to the activation of the temple, they died instantly," Samara reported.

"Commander, are you there?" a familiar voice called.

"Joker?" Shepard answered.

"Oh, good, I was hoping you were okay."

"You're alive?"

"Of course I'm alive! What? You thought that shot would take me down? EDI recalibrated the thrusters so the Normandy is stabile again."

"We heard a crash," Ashley said.

"I, uh... I accidentally smashed into the Palace of Westminster."

"I'm sure the Brits will forgive you," Anderson joked.

"Anyways, while you were all fighting I did some pick-ups. There is someone who wanted to speak."

"I knew you could do it, Shepard!" Reegar yelled over the comm.

"You're alive, Reegar," Shepard said.

"Yup. We took out a lot of husks in that fight. Luckily Joker came around and took out the rest of them. Now we are waiting on the Normandy for you guys."

Shepard looked back to the platform and saw that the staircase was broken beyond use.

"Tell Joker we need a pick-up. We're kind of stuck down here."

"Coming to get you, Commander," Joker said. "Just hang tight."

"Goddess, Tali," Liara said when she saw Tali's face. "You are beautiful."

"Thank you," Tali replied.

"Definitely a shame you quarians had to cover up your faces all this time," Ashley said.

Tali blushed a little at the compliments.

"What will you do now, Shepard?" Nihlus asked him.

"Kind of what I'm wondering," Jacob said. "You've spent your whole life on this mission and now... it's over."

"I've done what was needed to be done. My destiny fulfilled. I think it's time to live for myself now." Shepard wrapped his arms around Tali and rested his hands over her stomach. "And raise my family."

"She's... oh!" Ashley said. "Congratulations, Commander, Tali."

"I'm happy for you, Commander," Anderson said. They all saw the Normandy fly in the crater from above. "Looks like our ride is here. The Council will want to speak to you. Likely a ceremony and everything consider what you have done."

"Oh, I would like to speak with the Council as well," Shepard said. He looked to Nihlus. "There is much to be said."

Nihlus gave him a turian smile and nodded.

VVVVVV

Word reached every corner of the galaxy of Shepard's accomplishments. He was hailed as not just a hero, but a saviour to all. It was decided that Shepard would be honoured with a statue that would be placed in the Presidium and the Galactic Medal of Valour. Every major politician and military leader was at the ceremony that was being held in the Council chambers.

Shepard and his team were dressed in formal wear. Even Jack wore a dress suit. One of the first people to greet them was Rael'Zorah.

"You have done remarkable work, Commander," he congratulated him.

"Thank you, Admiral."

"I would be proud to have you as my son."

"It means a lot to hear that, Admiral. Though there is some you should know."

"What's that?"

Tali stood next to Shepard. "You're going to have grandkids."

"I'm going to be a grandfather?"

Tali and Shepard smiled and nodded.

"Now you two are making me feel old. I still remember when Tali graduated from school. There is much to talk about concerning this joyous news. But for now, Shepard has to receive his medal and be declared a hero of the galaxy."

"Thank you, Admiral."

"Please, just call me Rael."

Shepard and his team moved down the chamber waving to all those they have saved during the reaper war. Everyone from the rachni queen to the turian primachs to the leader of the batarian abolitionist movement were there. Shepard and Tali walked onto the platform in front of the Councillors: Tevos, Velarn, Ketlyo and Hackett stood.

"We have called everyone here today to recognize the accomplishments of Supreme Commander John Shepard," Tevos announced to the hushed chamber.

"Though you may not be of a race from this galaxy," Katlyo continued, "you still fought to save it from the horrors that have plagued it for many eons."

"And due to your selfless actions, billions will live on in this new age of unity and peace," Velarn finished.

"We as the Council award you the Galactic Medal of Valour for your actions," Hackett said while activating a command on his terminal.

A box appeared in front of Shepard's terminal from a hidden slot. Shepard picked the box up and opened it, revealing the medal inside.

"Thank you for this honour," Shepard said.

"You deserve a lot more for what you have done for all of us, Commander. But let this be a start."

Just then many heavily armed soldiers that were asari, turian and salarian came into the chamber and approached the Councillors.

"What is the meaning of this interruption?" Velarn demanded.

Nihlus walked up next to Shepard and said, "Councillor Velarn Hyven, Councillor Katlyo Foril and Councillor Tevos Avila. You three are being charged with gross criminal negligence resulting in the deaths of millions of civilians and military personnel. By our authority, as agents of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance group, we hereby place you three under arrest."

"You can't do this!" Tevos argued.

"By law we can if the crime is severe enough," Nihlus said. "And the crime is severe enough."

Katlyo made no efforts to fight back and held his arms out as they placed cuffs on him. Two agents had to drag Velarn out as well as Tevos.

Nihlus turned to Shepard and told him, "They will pay for their inaction."

"I know they will," Shepard said. "Know that your actions will greatly benefit your future and the future of every race of this galaxy."

"Thank you, Commander."

VVVVVV

Shepard entered inside the holding cell where the Councillors were being kept. There was angry and resentment on their faces when Shepard entered their cell.

"You planned this didn't you?" Velarn accused.

"Of course I did," Shepard replied nonchalantly. "Nihlus and I have been working towards this for a while now."

"Why?" Tevos demanded.

"Why?" Shepard repeated in disgust. "Because you three represent everything wrong with this galaxy's politics. Weak. Lazy. And Ignorant. Despite all the warnings of the reapers, you three did nothing!"

"What warnings?" Tevos said. "We couldn't act on the accusations of just one person, even a Spectre."

"I'm not talking about myself," Shepard yelled. "There has been warnings and evidence all around you, yet if any of you had even had people truly investigated it." Even examining Sovereign would have told you he wasn't geth.

"We did investigate and found no evidence," Velarn defended himself.

"You and I both know that isn't true," Katlyo said. He sat on his cot with his head lowered. "Any scientists we had on that project tried to make the assertion that Sovereign wasn't geth; he was reassigned and gagged."

"Though in a way, maybe I should thank you three," Shepard said. "While you incompetence cost the lives of millions, it has presented an opportunity. See we of the Order are disgusted by the way your government has operated for so long. Originally we were planning to launch a campaign against your government. Not one fought with guns, but one fought with ideals and words. We were planning to turn your own people against you so they would see just how corrupt and terrible you are as a government. But now... Now you have made things easier. The galaxy is furious knowing how you could have acted sooner, but didn't. They know now how things could have been different. They have lost all faith in this government. That is where the Order comes in. We have been there for this galaxy all this time. Saving lives and doing everything in our power to help it. We are seen as the future of leadership of this galaxy. One that will include all of the races and not just a privilege few."

"You bastard!" Velarn roared.

"You won't get away with this!" Tevos yelled.

Shepard walked to the cell door and opened it. Before he left the room he said, "I already have. There is more than enough evidence to convict you three. This galaxy will be led into a new golden age." Shepard left the cell and closed the door behind him.

**Epilogue**

The transition of governments was difficult, but the Order was able to assimilate the races of the galaxy into their government. Each race of the galaxy was granted a seat on their Order allowing every voice be heard for every decision to be made.

The Councillors were declared guilty of gross criminal negligence and due to the damage they inaction ahs caused, were placed into jail for the rest of their natural lives.

Every world and race managed to rebuild themselves after the brutal war they had endured. Exions and geth went all over to speed up the process of rebuilding worlds and within a few years, normalcy had returned to the galaxy.

Everyone that was a part of Shepard's team had been honoured in their own way. After the Order assimilated the Council government, the SpecTRe members were inducted into the Guardian Knights organization. Garrus was rewarded with his work by being made into the Knight-Commander taking charge of the organization. Ashley, Nihlus, Vega, Jack and Jacob were inducted into the Order.

Samara continued on her never-ending quest to weed out the wicked in the galaxy. Grunt and Wrex returned to Tuchanka to help rebuild their world to its state before the nuclear war of long ago. Miranda went to work of advancing science by working with scientists from the Order. Legion continued helping the people of the galaxy in hopes that they can gain the same acceptance as the exions have. Their future was once again theirs and they continued to learn and gain understanding of organic life.

Mordin was honoured with a statue on Tuchanka, the Citadel and on Sur'Kesh in remembrance of his Genophage cure and his efforts to stop the reapers. Kaidan Alenko was giving a memorial on Jump Zero to remember his actions during the hunt for Saren. Zaeed continued with mercenary life until he earned more than enough money to retire on a frontier world.

Kasumi was given a memorial in a history museum for her efforts in aiding Shepard. Due to her thefts, she was considered a modern day version of Robin Hood. Thane went to live on the Citadel where he could spend time with his son, Kolyat, who went on to become a well-respected member of C-Sec.

Joker continued his long career as a pilot of the Normandy which switched hands many times after Shepard had left the ship. The ship went longest to the person who replaced Shepard, Ashley Williams. Anderson had a short military career after the war before he retired on Earth. Hackett was on the Order for a couple of years before he retired from the post and, soon after, his military career. Both Alliance officers were honoured by a ceremony when they retired.

Shepard and Tali settled on Rannoch. Shepard and Tali helped the quarian people rebuild their planet. Shepard was never bored with his work as there was always something to do, and always happy with his wife by his side. Later after their bonding ceremony they found that Tali was pregnant with twins. A boy and girl. The boy was name Xiltro after the friend Shepard lost during the war. Tali name their daughter after her mother, Mari. Their family lived in a small home on the outskirts of the city that the quarians occupied. The home over looked an ocean that brought in warm air every day.

Ten years have passed since the end of the reaper war. Shepard sat on the bench in front of their house and watched the sea roll in. Tali lay across his lap. Shepard rubbed her stomach. Despite being free from her suit for years, she loved any sort of skin contact.

"What are you thinking about love?" Shepard asked Tali.

"Not thinking at all, just enjoying the moment," she replied. "This is all just so perfect."

Shepard bent down and kissed her.

"I love you."

"I love you."

"Mother! Father!" Mari yelled out while leaning out of the doorway. "Dinner is ready and grandpa is getting ready to tell some stories!"

"We'll be right there, dear," Shepard said looking to his daughter. "Your mother and I are just enjoying the sunset."

"'Kay, father," she said cheerfully. "Don't be long. We're getting hungry." Mari went back into the house.

Shepard wrapped his left arm around Tali's shoulder and lifted her up until she was sitting on his lap. "We shouldn't keep them waiting, love."

Tali wrapped her arms around his shoulder and rested her head on his shoulder as the two went to their feet. Shepard looked into her eyes before he kissed her. "My soul is yours, now and forever."

"As is mine yours, now and forever," she said.


End file.
